Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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170. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the steps he and his officials are taking regarding the archiving of digital media outlets for future keeping; if his attention has been drawn to the best practice exercised in other EU member states; if he will detail the plans his Department have to keep up with industry practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24733/13]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of the very complex issues surrounding the archiving of digitally published content. The National Library has run a number of pilot projects in this area in order to assess the best approach to archiving and the potential costs involved. At present a change in legislation would be required to overcome the copyright issues which currently prevent the National Library from archiving all such content. In addition to the legislative issue there are, of course, resource implications which are especially difficult to deal with in the current fiscal climate.

The relevant copyright legislation is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. That Department has been working on amendments to the copyright legislation over the past two years. Both the National Library of Ireland and my officials have engaged in extensive consultations with Minister's Bruton's Department on the draft legislation and, in particular, on the issue of legislating for the archiving of digitally published content.

The Deputy can be satisfied that I take this issue very seriously and am committed to continuing to work with the Library on this matter.