Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I believe the Deputy is referring to the intellectual property rights of actors and performers and compliance with relevant copyright legislation. I would first note that copyright law falls within the remit of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Copyright is relevant for many workers in the film sector, including authors, producers, broadcasters and performers. I am aware that an independent facilitator has been retained by Screen Ireland to meet with key stakeholders to understand and discuss issues raised through the implementation of the Digital Single Market Directive (Copyright Directive). I understand that stakeholders on all sides of this issue are actively engaging in the process. It is critical that any potential legislative amendments do not front-run this important piece of work, and the outputs from it will inform future policy considerations.

The Digital Single Market Directive and related legislation establish overarching principles – in this case, the right to appropriate and proportionate remuneration. The details of what exactly this entails – for example the balance of remuneration between upfront daily rates and potential profit-share post-release – need to be agreed between representative bodies in the industry, with the over-arching protection of the legislative principles

I would like to advise that my officials have directly engaged with all relevant representative bodies in the sector, including those representing crew, cast and producers, with a view to understanding the issues affecting the audio-visual sector.