Mr. James Hickey:

Ms Forbes mentioned funding models and levies. Funding is going on at EU level. The audiovisual media services directive is on its way through the legislative process. As I mentioned in my submission, it provides for levels and prominence of European works in digital media services and for levies and contributions from those services for indigenous screen content. It is the French model. In France, screen content is funded through various means. It goes back to the days of levies on cinema seats and DVDs. It is now up to levies on Internet service providers. Screen content is funded through those levies. While it is a French system, it also exists in Germany and other EU countries.

Our Irish Film Board Strategic Plan 2016-2021 specifically suggests we continue "working with European Film Agency Directors on the development of EU policies on film and screen content, including initiatives on the Digital Single Market (DSM), the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) and directives in relation to copyright and e-commerce". This is the area we are in. One of the major issues is country of origin. Under current country of origin rules, only the country where the service provider is located can regulate the party. However, a proposed change under the audiovisual media services directive would allow a country which is targeted by a service from a country into another country to consider putting levies or contributions on the service.

In an Irish context, it is a very important discussion which needs to be had. It needs to be investigated further and I urge the committee to investigate what is being done at European level and how it would impact on issues such as opt-out advertising regarding the services that come from the UK. They are not digital services, strictly speaking, but there could be a way of examining it. These are areas the committee could explore.

BBC Films and Film4 are operations within the BBC and Channel 4. They fund feature films instead of television programmes. Most European countries have film funding arrangements with public services broadcasters which are regulated in a particular way. Ireland should follow suit. In my world, if there were an RTE film organisation within RTE, I would welcome it. This depends on RTE's funding, and it brings us back to the discussion on funding and the licence fee.

The concept of an Irish film channel was in the Broadcasting Act 2009. We must consider the fact that technology has significantly overtaken where we were in 2009 and we must re-evaluate how best to re-examine the proposal in light of the development in technology.