Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis na finnéithe agus cuirim fáilte roimh gach duine anseo. I had the pleasure of studying film and television production in GMIT in Galway. Those three years outside Dublin gave me an insight into the need for a greater regional spread. When I continued to wake up to the Dublin traffic report, it felt like I was still at home.

Funding is the elephant in the room, but, aside from this, what is the single greatest obstacle to the creation of a vibrant, indigenous sector? I am supportive of big budget productions coming to Ireland via section 481 relief, but should a greater ecosystem below that be built to support it? Is there scope for a smaller section 481, so to speak?

What is the breakdown of the Irish Film Board's infrastructure between Dublin and Galway? As Dr. Doona mentioned, Galway is a UNESCO-designated city of film, with 50 production companies and educational institutions providing courses and so on. Is there greater scope for collaboration with Northern Ireland Screen? Compared to us, significant funding for it is provided by the British Government.

I welcome the Minister.

Dr. Doona called for a return to the 2008 figures.

Has any indication been given or has there been any correspondence on that front? Regarding the national cultural institutions, this is part of a conversation I had recently. How can we really identify our national cultural institutions as national, and we spoke about this, if one multiplies the number of seats by the days in the year? Would that truly be national? It was touched on in the previous discussion. Can we better foster outreach programmes or engagement with people who do not necessarily participate in the arts? Culture Night is a huge example of how our citizens really have an appetite for cultural activity. How do we better bring that to them?