Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 91: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps he intends to take to ensure that EU Directive 92/100/EEC, relating to the protection of the rights of authors, is fully implemented in this country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12112/05]

Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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The EC directive on rental right and lending right and on certain rights related to copyright in the field of intellectual property deals with a number of matters concerning authors and other copyright holders, including rules on the renting of protected materials and authors' rights generally. Its key provisions, including that of public lending right, were transposed into Irish law by the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000.

The Deputy may recall that, in reply to a question from him of last December, it was indicated that, while the 2000 Act created a public lending right in Irish law, Article 5.3 of the EC directive allowed member states to exempt certain kinds of establishments from the obligation to collect the rental right levy in favour of authors. Ireland, in its transposition of the directive, effectively exempted all public libraries from liability. Subsequently, it became apparent that the European Commission disagreed with our approach and notified us of its intention to take legal proceedings in the matter.

My Department has recently had informal consultations with the European Commission and has indicated that our intent is to prepare proposals for consideration by Government in this matter. These proposals will relate to the putting in place of statutory provisions to provide for a mechanism to yield payment to authors for the lending of copies of their works by public libraries. My Department is working closely with the relevant Department responsible for the public library system, that is, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, on the matter.