Both the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 and with the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 are the responsibility of my Cabinet colleague the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke, T.D. Matters relating to the enforcement of and compliance with the two Acts, therefore, lies with Minister Burke and with his Department.
Under Section 14(1) of the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003, an employee or any trade union of which the employee is a member, with the consent of the employee, may present a complaint to a rights commissioner that the employee's employer has contravened any provision of that Act in relation to that employee. The Act provides that the case can ultimately be escalated to the Labour Court and the Circuit Court with the power to direct the employer concerned to pay to the employee concerned compensation including interest.
Section 11 of the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 provides for summary proceedings for an offence under the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 to be brought and prosecuted by the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. The Act provides for a wide range of redress, compensations and penalties for various forms of breaches and offences under that Act.
It is indeed the case that Exchequer funding is provided to the Irish film industry annually from my Department through Screen Ireland and Coimisiún na Meán. Conditions for allocation and receipt such funding is set by the two independent agencies.
The Minister for Finance provides legislation for a range of tax reliefs available to the screen industry including for animation, feature film, TV drama, unscripted TV, gaming and VFX, that are certified by my Department and paid by the Revenue Commissioners. All of these screen projects receiving certificates are required to sign an undertaking in respect of quality employment. Each company is required to give an undertaking, not only to be in compliance with all obligations in employment law, but also to have in place written policies and procedures in relation to grievances, discipline and dignity at work including harassment, bullying and equal opportunity.
