S.I. No. 403/1996:

VIDEO RECORDINGS ACT, 1989 (CLASSIFICATION OF VIDEO WORKS) REGULATIONS, 1996

VIDEO RECORDINGS ACT, 1989 (CLASSIFICATION OF VIDEO WORKS) REGULATIONS, 1996

I, AUSTIN CURRIE, Minister of State at the Department of Justice, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by subsection (4)(a) of section 4 of the Video Recordings Act, 1989 (No. 22 of 1989), and the Justice (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order, 1995 ( S.I. No. 13 of 1995 ), hereby make the following Regulations, as respects which, pursuant to subsection (4)(b) of the said section, a draft has been approved of by a resolution of each House of the Oireachtas:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Video Recordings Act, 1989 (Classification of Video Works) Regulations, 1996.

2. Section 4 (1) of the Video Recordings Act, 1989 (No. 22 of 1989), is hereby amended by-

(a) the substitution in paragraph (b) of "under parental guidance" for "in the company of a responsible adult",

(b) the insertion after paragraph (b) of the following:

"(bb) fit for viewing by persons aged 12 years or more,", and

(c) the insertion of "that specified in paragraph (bb) and that specified in paragraph (bb) is higher than" after "is higher than",

and the said subsection (1), as so amended, is set out in the Table to this Regulation.

Table

4. (1) When granting a supply certificate the Official Censor shall determine, and shall include in the certificate a statement indicating, to which of the following classes the video work concerned belongs:

(a) fit for viewing by persons generally,

(b) fit for viewing by persons generally but, in the case of a child under the age of 12 years, only under parental guidance,

(bb) fit for viewing by persons aged 12 years or more,

(c) fit for viewing by persons aged 15 years or more,

(d) fit for viewing by persons aged 18 years or more,

and for the purposes of this Act the class specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection is the highest classification and that specified in paragraph (d) of this subsection is the lowest classification and that specified in paragraph (b) of this subsection is higher than that specified in paragraph (bb) and that specified in paragraph (bb) is higher than that specified in paragraph (c) of this subsection and references in this Act to classification or higher classification or lower classification shall be construed accordingly.

GIVEN under my hand, this 19th day of December, 1996.

AUSTIN CURRIE,

__________________

Minister of State at the

Department of Justice.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations provide for changes in the classification of video works under the Video Recordings Act, 1989 . The changes in video classifications implemented are: (a) the substitution of the words "under parental guidance" for the words "in the company of a responsible adult" in the classification "fit for viewing generally, but in the case of a child under 12 years, only in the company of a responsible adult"; and (b) the introduction of an additional classification of "fit for viewing by persons aged 12 years or more".

Resolutions approving the Resolutions in draft were passed by the Dail on 18th December 1996 and by the Seanad on 19th December 1996, as required by Section 4(4)(b) of the Video Recordings Act, 1989 .