Ms Sin?ad Crowley:

Mr. Ó Domhnaill spoke about sound and vision but we also have our sectoral learning and training programme. We recently announced almost €800,000 in funding for sectoral learning, development and sponsorship. This is also very important for regional development because many of the projects we sponsor are throughout the country. For example, we support a group, X-Pollinator, which supports women in film and television and has events in various areas. We also support GORM Media, which looks at people from under-represented groups, and we support film festivals throughout the country. It is very important to remember that as well as the headline figures in film that get supported, we will not have Oscar winners unless we have support on the ground for people to make small films, take part in smaller film festivals, and get that learning.

In terms of the individual projects some of the money might not look huge but it is really important for supporting people, particularly those from under-represented groups or people who might not have the opportunity to break through or go to the larger colleges. We are also close to publishing our gender equality, diversity and inclusion strategy which would again look at getting other voices on screen and heard which is hugely important.