Mr. James Hickey:

The short answer is, first, we need some form of automatic subsidy to replace the section 481 regional uplift. We will be told by Screen Ireland and others that an automatic subsidy is the best sales pitch in places around the world to bring in inward production. Unfortunately, we have not come up with a clear way of doing that yet. That is why Screen Producers Ireland is recommending that we intensively look at how to do that. An automatic subsidy is something we intensively need to do. In the short term, we believe the best solution would be for Screen Ireland’s funding to be significantly increased in budget 2025 so that it can invest in regional production activities.

That would be a very strong outcome.

On Troy Studios, one last point that is worth making is that when "Nightflyers" first came, which was the first production to take place in Troy Studios, there was no regional uplift but Screen Ireland did contribute a very large amount of money to incentivise "Nightflyers" to come to Troy Studios in the first place. In a sense we are back to square one here. If, in the short term, we could give Screen Ireland a significant increase in its funding it could then target production projects to be brought in while we work out how to put in place an automatic subsidy which focuses on the regions outside Dublin-Wicklow where, as the Senator rightly says, the development needs to be done.

Incidentally, if I may congratulate the team on "Lakelands". It was a tremendous production. It is an extraordinarily good film. Screen Ireland came in with completion funding in the end. It is worth mentioning that the two actors in "Lakelands", Éanna Hardwicke and Danielle Galligan, are both graduates of the Lir Academy, which is one of the great acting academies operating in Ireland now.