Mr. James Hickey:

I agree with the Deputy on the regional map situation. The whole business of how the regional map and the regional funding works needs to be reviewed in detail. There are related challenges because you have to come up with another map and the basis on which such map would be prepared. Another way of the solving the problem would also be to provide significant additional funding to Screen Ireland whereby it could, with a greater degree of flexibility, allocate resources in the way in which it is already doing. It funded projects such as “The Sparrow”, for example, which the Deputy mentioned. There are ways in which we need to develop a better, clearer approach to how we will support production throughout the country and not just in the metropolitan area of Dublin-Wicklow alone. That is an important part of policy that needs to be developed as a matter of urgency for the benefit of media in Ireland.