Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I might move on as I have another question. We have gone over time. If the delegates want to contribute again on that later, they should please do so.

We had representatives of the Department before us and they talked about the idea of direct investment in studios and the capital side of things. I was talking specifically about west Cork. The delegates present might have heard me talk previously about a budding studio being developed in west Cork and its benefits. One of the challenges mentioned was that a skilled workforce does not exist in a place like west Cork, which I disputed. It was also said that there was no precedent for directly investing in studios, which might be the case. In this regard, I believe the departmental official referred to a situation in Portugal. I would like the view of the delegates on directly investing in infrastructure. The point I keep making is that the Department is wrong in that there are skills in places like west Cork. Ms Keane just mentioned that people want to live in Kilkenny. Maybe people who want to get into film and television want to get out of the cities and live in more regional areas. That is what I see happening in Cork, including west Cork, where we have set designers, set makers, location managers, makeup artists, writers and others right across the board. They want to live and work in their area and do not want to commute or go abroad. Could the delegates comment on that? I am continuously trying to make the point. I get the point on the tax incentives for productions and the creation of hubs, including education hubs, which would follow, but what about direct investment by the State in smaller studios for indie-type productions?