Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome section 39 and the amendment being proposed by the Minister. It is a positive move. The Irish film production industry is recognised globally. We have large multinational corporation-backed productions, but we also have a lot of indigenous industries and locally grown talent. It all benefits from a well-functioning industry in which everybody's interests are taken care of equitably. I know many people who work across the spectrum of the film industry, including painters, as referenced earlier, electricians, carpenters, riggers and people in creative, in production, in transport and in accountancy. The back office part of these productions is extremely important as well. I would not criticise accountants because they have an important role in this work. Many of those people live in my constituency and in Deputy Boyd Barrett's constituency. It is unfair to characterise an entire industry based on information that may be submitted by individuals because it is not what I hear from the many people I know who work in the industry.

I do not doubt that there is no perfect job, no perfect industry, and no job sector or situation where disputes do not arise. Working conditions can be difficult. The nature of film production is not like working in a shop or factory. When productions arrive in, it is mobile and it can involve long hours, weekend work, night work or working out in the cold. Anybody who works in the industry recognises that. A lot of investment goes into this industry. One of the most positive things any investor can have is a cohesive working situation where everybody is being looked after. A crew all working and pulling together produces a good product at the end. Everybody recognises that across the board. I did some investigation on section 481. If you sign up to it and are successful, you need to comply with the terms of the employment Acts. You need to comply with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act. You need to comply with the full range of employment protections we have in this country. There are mechanisms and methods on every work site and in every situation to bring a grievance and to raise something with management. There is a mechanism in place for doing that. It is unfair to characterise the entire industry as has been done here today. That is unfair to many people working in the industry and across the board in the creative area. We have a product that goes out around the globe. The quality of work produced in the Irish film and production industry is recognised internationally. We constantly compare with the UK and other places but we are in global competition with the UK, the US, Asia and Europe. We need to be careful. There seems to be always a rush to talk down Irish successes and to criticise everything about them. We need to be careful about that. This industry is successful and - let us not forget - it is mobile as well. If some of those involved in it pick up on the attitude that is being displayed by parliamentarians here, they might question that. With this amendment, we are backing the film industry and we have been doing so for quite some time on production.

I recently visited another sector of film production - the unscripted sector, on which Ireland is leading and will lead in a European and global setting. I welcome the Minister's comments in his speech on budget day that we are going to work out a support mechanism for the unscripted sector as well. I will explain what that brings to the unscripted sector. I spoke about the film production being quite mobile, being on set and moving around a lot. The unscripted sector - I could mention BiggerStage in Ashford, County Wicklow - involves on-site work. We need to send out a signal that we should invest in this industry so that anybody - carpenters, or those involved in lighting or power - can say that Ireland is back in this industry. We should invest in it. If we see a strong trajectory, there is a strong signal to invest in it and thereby create employment opportunities, including opportunities that are permanently on set, not mobile or moving around the place.

I appreciate what the Minister has done. I look forward to further work to support the unscripted sector. It is unfair to characterise the whole industry in the manner that has been done here today.