Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yes. We will not repeat everything we have gone through on many occasions before. Again, I hope this will be dealt with at the stakeholder forum. We are all very glad that the forum is happening. Beyond that, we are very glad that it will be open to everyone. We just need to make sure that everyone who needs to be there will be told beforehand. We must also ensure that anybody who wants to make a written submission can do so. This should also be follow-up with actions.

Without guessing, it will be very difficult to predict the issues that will come up. There is the WRC case, which found that the employer was not the DAC, but the producer. This is a matter of how we create an infrastructure and a means of ensuring that employment rights are in place. This is because the Department cannot make a determination in relation to crew agreements. I know there will be people out there who will have an issue with the crew agreements currently in existence. It is a matter of how we create a framework of protective nature so that these proper arrangements can be negotiated. We must also create a set of circumstances where there is no blacklisting. We need to find a way that is slightly more elegant than it taking several years to get through the WRC when there is an issue. In fairness to Deputy Boyd Barrett, he spoke about how this seems to be systemic throughout the industry.

That is not to say that this happens in every film production. However, it is a fact that this issue has come up as a recurring theme again and again. I will put this question to everyone quickly. I promise I will not have any follow-on questions, though I am not necessarily renowned for telling the truth. We must deal with those issues that are being put out time and time again. As much as possible, how do people see us dealing with them in relation to section 481? I would be delighted if someone could come up with a very simple, elegant method of doing this. Either way, we need a solution to this and we do not want to be speaking about this in another two, three or four years’ time.