Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will ask a few questions, if I may. I was disappointed with Culture 2025 – Éire Ildánach myself. I thought it nebulous and light and it did not go to the heart of the matter. If one considers that the matter was so obvious and has been debated so much, there should have been more meat on the bones in the document itself. One of the gaping holes within it, which is a key element within the entire sector, is the inability of artists to make a living wage. It is a socioeconomic problem but also is one of the biggest factors militating against the production of art because it means so many people must leave the sector or must leave the country to practise their art. If we can get that right, it will be very important. I note that AARO has stated that most of its proposals are cost neutral and would not make a big difference to the Exchequer. I also note the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has developed the knowledge development box.

The idea was to ensure intellectual property had some return for those who developed it. The sector is burgeoning and some of the figures are amazing, such as those regarding Facebook, but we do not have the same attitudes towards how the development of art can be used to allow people make a decent wage from it. It is also extraordinary that the sector does not have the ability to collectively bargain. A big debate has been taking place in Leinster House over recent years about workers having the right to collectively bargain. Incremental changes are happening in this regard but if a whole sector is excluded, it points to the fact it will suffer economically as a result.

Ms Mangan mentioned she felt it was not a good idea to have a parallel track and I understand this. She wants to ensure she is i lár an aonaigh and wants to be in the middle of where it is happening regarding the Department. It should be noted this is a cross-party body. We have great skills and some level of influence with the Department. Sometimes a Department needs to be pushed from a number of different angles. If we can find a structure by which we could develop a report on the needs of the sector it could be a tool to further the area.

The country has a similar view to screen as it does to foreign direct investment. It lauds and loves when big multinationals come into the country. They are good and useful but the internal ecosystem of development is also very important. In business this is not great and sometimes it is not great in the arts either. People find it very hard to break through the middle space to get into the larger facilities where they can employ more and create more. What is necessary to achieve this? With regard to tax breaks in the sector, is there a need to refocus them to allow for smaller enterprise and smaller screen producers to develop into the middle space? This middle space is more sustainable in the long run for everybody in the indigenous sector.