ADDRESS BY MR TOM KITT TD, MINISTER FOR LABOUR, TRADE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS AT THE INAUGURAL DINNER OF THE SOFTWARE OPERATIONS ASSOCIATION ON THURSDAY 10TH DECEMBER 1998 IN THE SHELBOURNE HOTEL, DUBLIN

I am pleased to have been invited here tonight to the inaugural dinner of this prestigious association. A sign of its prestige is the calibre of its membership which includes, in the parent organisation, representatives of many of the world's leading software companies. Membership has grown to 600 people from 200 companies.

The Irish association has grown to over 80 members in over 60 companies including many leading software companies and their suppliers. To name just a few, Microsoft, Lotus/IBM, Novell, Oracle, Symantec and many more.

The Software Operations Association is a forum where professionals, associated with the software industry can share information and exchange ideas. In these days of rapid technological advancement an organisation such as this is essential so that the professionals concerned can continue to grow and develop and, at the same time, bring better methods and technologies to the entire industry.

The regard with which Ireland is held within the software industry is indicated by the fact that this is the only branch of the Software Operations Association outside North America. This regard is not unfounded. Ireland is home to a booming software industry which looks set to continue its rapid growth over the next decade. By the year 2000, software will be one of the largest industries in the Irish economy.

Ireland is now the largest exporter of software, per capita, in the world. The 1997 National Software Directorate Survey recorded a 44% growth in the number of indigenous software companies. A massive 81% of Irish software companies are exporting some or all of their products, principally to North America and the UK, but increasingly into Europe.

Ireland's indigenous software developers have a uniquely international focus and a strong product bias. This sets them apart from many of their European competitors where services account for a large proportion of software activity. More than two thirds of Irish software companies are involved in developing and/or marketing software products.

Total employment in the sector last year was almost 18,500, of which half were jobs created by Irish software companies and it is predicted that this will grow to over 21,000 by the year 2000 - from a base of no more than a few hundred in 1980.

The sector currently comprises more than 670 companies, 80% of which are Irish owned. A thriving indigenous sector is creating a broad range of innovative products: from a myriad of business applications, software tools, advanced telecommunications systems, through to state-of-the-art multimedia systems.

The Government is committed to creating an environment where such companies have access to the capital and skilled staff necessary for growth.

I know that a frequent topic for discussion at your quarterly meetings is the shortage of the necessary skills. The Government has initiated several initiatives to address this issue. The £250 million Scientific and Technological Education Investment Fund is now up and running. This three year programme will develop technology education at all levels of the system, from primary schools to advanced research at third level. Already £100 million has been paid into the fund, and a further £150 million will be allocated by Government over the next two years.

To ensure that future skills needs are identified and planned for, the Government have initiated several mechanisms. One of these is the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs which recently completed an analysis of the existing and projected size of the skills shortage and has made recommendations on further increasing the provision of places in the Universities and Institutes of Technology. The financial and logistical implications of implementing this report are at present being considered as a matter of urgency and I am hopeful that we will be able to keep up the momentum on this vital issue and ensure that suitable personnel are available for this expanding industry.

This year in response to the Government's commitment to support the industry in its on-going growth and development, Enterprise Ireland in conjunction with my Department launched "Opportunity Ireland" - a focused campaign managed by the National Software Directorate targeted at highlighting the type of job opportunities available to experienced, qualified personnel in both the software and electronics sectors here in Ireland.

This remains an important initiative. In a recent survey of its membership the Irish Software Association established that the availability of skilled personnel remains a crucial issue for over 80% of its membership. The "Opportunity Ireland" campaign will continue to operate in support of this issue. The campaign is currently gearing up for a major push over the Christmas period and the commitment is there for it to continue right through next year.

Another area of particular concern to members of this Association, which is in my Ministerial brief, is that of copyright law. I should say that I entirely share the view, which I know is common throughout the software industry, that the present situation is wholly unsatisfactory. Copyright protection in Ireland currently depends on the Copyright Act, 1963, a measure which in its turn was modelled to a substantial extent on the corresponding United Kingdom legislation of 1956. In effect, the community of Irish copyright rightsholders is being served in the 1990s by a somewhat confusing, technology-specific Act which was drafted to meet the needs of the 1950s. Clearly, this situation cannot be allowed to continue.

I have already taken a small but important first step in the programme of copyright reform by securing the passage by the Oireachtas of the Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1998, which was signed into law in July last. This Act effected a major shift in the evidential burden in favour of plaintiffs in civil actions for breach of copyright, and increased penalties for criminal offences under the Copyright Act to the substantial levels called for by the seriousness of copyright theft in the information age.

The next stage in the process will involve the publication and enactment of the proposed Copyright and Related Rights Bill. The objective of this comprehensive Bill will be to bring Irish law on copyright and related rights into conformity with all relevant European Union and international obligations and, generally, to effect a thoroughgoing reform of Irish copyright legislation. I had hoped to have this Bill formally published before the end of the current year, but you will understand that its great length and legal complexity combined to render the completion of the text in time to meet this objective impossible.

At present, my Department and the Office of the Attorney General are working to secure publication at the earliest possible date in the New Year, with enactment to follow as soon as is practically possible. Ireland will then be set to enter the 21st century with a coherent, rational, technology-neutral regime of copyright legislation which, I firmly believe, will be second to none in the world, and which will provide robust protection for the rights of software rightsholders in common with copyright rightsholders in general. While I would agree that 35 years was way too long to wait to arrive at such a happy position, I hope you will agree that at this stage, it is worth waiting a little longer to get this one right.

One final matter I would like to mention in connection with copyright is the concerns raised by the Business Software Alliance as to the civil remedies to be available for breach of copyright under the Bill and, in particular, their concern that provision be made for the award of statutory multiple damages and for a regime of informer protection in such cases. You will appreciate that I, with the proposed Bill so close to submission for the consideration of the Government, am not at this stage in a position to comment on these matters in detail. I can only say that I am absolutely convinced of the importance of self-help on the part of rightsholders in vindicating their rights through civil actions and, in consequence, of the importance of ensuring that the regime of civil remedies finally provided for will be as strong as possible, consistent with the standards of Irish constitutional justice. I can assure you that the views of the software industry on this matter are well known to me, and will be given the fullest weight in my deliberations leading up to the publication of the Copyright and Related Rights Bill.

Finally, I welcome the establishment of this branch of the Software Operations Association in Ireland and I wish you every success in your deliberations in the future.