Ms Liz Murray:

It is very difficult to answer that question. I am not sure. State aid rules mandate the Irish Government and all member state governments to produce a document listing all of the recipients of state aid, the amount they got, when they got it and every source from which they got it. We do not know that.

RTÉ has a production budget. It sets aside €40 million a year out of the licence fee to commission independent content. The BAI gives a whole load of money. The current capital spend for the film board is €20 million. TG4 has an obligation. There are so many obligations it is very difficult to see where the funding goes and why. If the Government were to say that I as a film producer received X amount under section 481 for, for example, "A Nice Boy", it might say that I got it from RTÉ because that is where it will be shown. I might have got some from the BBC. We are speaking about a lot of State money. State broadcasters in Luxembourg and other countries feed into this. Canadian money is put in. If we could find out where all the funding goes and why it goes there we would be able to establish how best to address the arts. The entire arts sector is decimated, including musicians. It is not just the film production sector. Artists pay their taxes and we get something back because they satisfy audiences. We get nothing back from the film production sector as far as I can see.