Mr. Ian Brannigan:

A couple of things arise. When the Senator mentions the Irish language, I could not agree more. Without judging it in any way, I would add the word "authenticity". When the Senator refers to Philip King, which we have discussed, it screams authenticity. For a creative product, an authentic experience is really important and it is what people pay money for in high-value products. If one is speaking Irish, it is seen as an authentic experience and when it is created in that medium, they see it.

I am sure my learned colleague will have a great deal to say about the issue the Senator raised on third level. We know there is an entrepreneurial deficit in our region, which is due to peripherality and other factors. I would like to see people coming out of the creative courses having an add-on of entrepreneurialism to bridge that pre-mentoring gap where they can apply some business skills to the artistic abilities they have and move it on. That would be great. The Senator mentioned regional status. I had not thought about a UNESCO type thing. While there may be a branding opportunity in the fact that we are located in a region, it is a jump we would not make ham-fistedly. We would like to consider it with everyone.

The Senator referred to multitasking. We have discussed a great deal today the traditional creative sectors. I ask the committee to understand that Minecraft was developed in Umeå, Sweden, by a guy in his bedroom. We think we have those types of break-out capabilities in the west and we are looking at all aspects of it. Dr. Cunningham covered some of the segments. There is creative technology based in some of the urban areas which we consider is very strong and it needs to migrate into the rural areas to a greater extent. Those guys in their bedrooms like GMarsh TV in Claremorris need to get to the world more quickly because they have the product. That is my point.