Vol. 438 No. 1
66 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Justice if newly appointed video censors will be examining videos currently available on release in this country; and if, in the future, no video will be available for sale or leasing unless passed by the censors.
The certification and classification provisions of the Video Recordings Act, 1989 will shortly be brought into operation by ministerial order and regulations. The regulations will require all new video works (other than exempted works) coming on the market to be first submitted to the Film Censor for certification and classification. When the system is up and running, the question of certifying and classifying videos already on the market will be addressed. I should say, of course, that the Censor and the Assistant Censors have power to examine any video — whether a new release or already on the market — and to prohibit its distribution if they regard it, by reference to the criteria set out in the Video Recordings Act, to be unfit for viewing.
