Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to thank our witnesses for joining us today and for taking the time out to speak to us about this important topic. Recently, in my own constituency of Mayo, the "Wild Mountain Thyme" production was filmed on location outside Ballina in the village of Crossmolina, which caused excitement among locals. The film was screened in October and it was fantastic for the region and the area. That followed "The Quiet Man", which was filmed in Cong, and John Wayne visited the village. The impact that these productions have on the area in respect of promoting them as a tourist destination, is very welcome. My question is this: how can we get local authorities to be more active on the ground to promote the areas as locations to both film producers and screenwriters? I know that Martina Niland is a native of Aughagower and her own production company, Port Pictures, was instrumental in Mayo being used as a location for "Wild Mountain Thyme". Is there more that we can do as a Government in respect of an action plan for promoting areas? The bulk of productions filmed in Ireland are made in County Kerry, and it is very active. It has a good commission set up for this purpose. County Wicklow would be the same. It comes down to the stunning scenery and the natural resources in those counties. I would like to hear the thoughts of the witnesses on how to ensure we achieve balanced regional development in this area.