Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 425: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on correspondence received from the European Commission raising concerns on the copyright issue as outlined in amendment No. 158 to the Broadcasting Bill 2008; the nature of the concerns raised by the European Commission; his response to those concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26271/09]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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As the Deputy will be aware, amendment 158, as published on 30 March 2009, and as passed at Report stage in Dáil Éireann of the Broadcasting Bill 2008 on 18 June 2009, provides for a change in copyright law to afford commercial DTT platform providers the same opportunities as cable, IPTV and MMDS operators and on similar terms.

The amendment involves the complex interface between commercial DTT issues, copyright law and broadcasting policy, and accordingly has been developed in close cooperation with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to ensure compatibility with copyright matters.

As the Deputy will be aware, an Irish broadcaster expressed concerns about the amendment as originally tabled at Committee stage in Dáil Éireann in December 2007. Those concerns resulted in a significant change to the nature of amendment 158 as passed at Report stage. This change involved the stipulation that services must be 'encrypted' i.e. where a channel from another Member State is retransmitted free-to-air on DTT in Ireland, it cannot avail of the benefit of this amendment, where it is encrypted it can. This change draws the necessary distinction between broadcast rights for Irish free-to-air broadcasts and for non-Irish retransmissions to meet the concerns raised.

Commissioner McCreevy, the EU Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services, wrote to me on 11 June last, stating that it had been brought to his attention that the amendment had raised concerns with respect to its impact and he requested that the introduction of the amendment be reconsidered pending further consideration of the issues.

Having reflected on the matters raised by the Commissioner, including any deleterious impact on existing services, and the various advices available, the amendment was introduced as it will serve the long term interest of the Irish broadcasting sector and the Irish viewer by ensuring appropriate and equitable treatment of the DTT platform.