Ms Mary Callery:

I thank the Chairman for the opportunity. As Mr. Hickey mentioned, asking how much it costs to produce an hour of television drama is like asking how long a piece of string is because many different factors influence the answer, for example, whether the drama is period, genre or whatever. It is safe to say that we in the independent sector are mostly working in the budgetary space of €1 million to €2.5 million per hour.

Let us forget about the exact figure, though. As a rule of thumb, when one is looking for finance for one's series from the patchwork of funding sources, as Ms Kirby called it - it is like trying to put together a large jigsaw puzzle - one typically expects to raise 30% to 35% on the international market through pre-sales or distribution advances against future sales. One would also access 20% to 25% of the funding through tax incentives, wherever they were. On top of that, one would need to bring to the table approximately 40% from the domestic territory. Ten or 15 years ago, Irish broadcasters were making commissioning decisions that involved investments of 30% to 40%, or even more, into a project. Today, one is lucky if one gets 10% to 15%, or 20% at a maximum. As Irish producers, we are always left with a 20% gap. This is after one has maximised the value of one's product on the international market. I reiterate there is considerable demand for Irish products internationally. We are out there every day trying to sell those products. There is that level of demand because we are recognised as a nation of storytellers and producers of high-quality content, whatever the genre or medium.

This situation is frustrating. Perhaps members can sense the frustration in my voice. Day after day, people manage to raise their 80%, but the Irish market, which should ideally be providing 40%, is typically providing just 20%. Where do people get the extra 20%? Returning to the point that Mr. McCabe made about the importance of intellectual property, people sell off a bit of their projects to try to get money from some other source or they end up trying to close a small gap through bank deficit financing, which adds more cost to the budget, or deferring fees, meaning that they will not get paid for their work. There is considerable frustration.

The net effect of all of this is that we have very good projects for which we know there is demand domestically and internationally, yet we cannot get over the final hurdle and get them made. The Irish projects do not get made and Irish audiences do not get to see stories that reflect them back to themselves in the way they should. Thankfully, there are projects that get made. "Normal People" was mentioned, but we could also include "Smother", "Dead Still", "The South Westerlies" and "The Young Offenders". There are many projects for which we know there is a demand, and when they get made, they are always hits, but there are many more shows like "Smother", "Normal People" and "The Young Offenders" that are waiting to be made. I could pull a few out of my bottom drawer if the committee likes. Shows are ready to go but we cannot get them made, and that is a shame.

It is not just about providing work and an outlet for the Irish creative voice in this moment, or about feeding current audience demand. There is a large development process. I am beginning to sound like the elder lemon here, but I will hark back to my past. The first season of "The Clinic", which I believe was made in 2005, was the first screen role for a young aspiring teenage actor by the name of Saoirse Ronan. Amy Huberman went through "The Clinic", as did Chris O'Dowd, Domhnall Gleeson and Robert Sheehan. They all had early parts in it. We have world class directors directing big international and high-budget series, for example, Neasa Hardiman, Dearbhla Walsh and Ciaran Donnelly. They all started out on domestic Irish productions. There is a future that is at risk in this regard. We are not providing the outlet or platform for young creative talent to get a start. This additional funding in the domestic marketplace would make a significant difference. We would have more projects, outlets and potential to bring on the next generation of directors, performers and writers.

As Ms Hamilton mentioned, this train has already left the station. The demand is out there now, as is the opportunity. We need to address the deficit now, and this levy would be a significant step towards doing so. That is why we are so passionate about it.