PLR scheme favours low-income writers

THE Irish Writers’ Union (IWU) was disappointed by the article (Irish Examiner, February 20) on Public Lending Right (PLR).

It was misleading to suggest that funding of public libraries might be ‘under threat’ by Ireland’s obligation to introduce PLR and that authors were about to ‘cash in’.

Proponents of PLR, including the IWU and the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency, never suggested the scheme should be funded from existing budgets for public libraries. There is no official indication that PLR should be funded from such budgets.

The IWU has campaigned for many years for an Irish PLR scheme, which is long overdue as a right under the European Lending Rights Directive, 1992. We have always valued the role of libraries and our members cooperate with their colleagues, the librarians, in promoting Irish literature.

A PLR scheme would not, as suggested, be a ‘cash in’. We estimate that only about 50 Irish authors earn a living solely from their writing.

The majority of authors in Ireland earn an average of less than €200 a week.

PLR offers a valuable support to authors. That is vital now because publishing trends mean that bookshops, notably multinational chains, concentrate on limited numbers of bestsellers. Libraries have a much wider selection, including many out-of-print books.

Small payments to authors whose books are borrowed will be a useful supplement to the income of many Irish writers.

PLR schemes favour writers with lower incomes as there are upper limits on payments to individual authors.

Furthermore, an Irish PLR scheme could bring wider economic gains from reciprocal arrangements with other countries.

Dr Conor Kostick

Chair Tony Quinn

Executive Committee

Irish Writers’ Union

19 Parnell Square

Dublin 1