Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests. I acknowledge Mr. Tom Hogan and Mr. Jimmy Kelly in the Gallery, who both have a significant legacy in the form of Waterford Crystal. Mr. O'Connor and I have spoken a couple of times previously, and I thank Mr. Glanzer for his early start this morning in New York.

I am from Waterford, in case our guests have not guessed that, and I have had an interest in this area for some time. I tried previously to get some apprenticeship activity going through local enterprise and so on to get people out of retirement, and we ran into all sorts of problems relating to, for instance, who would provide the insurance, which is one of the main issues we face. There is recognition in Waterford that we have a fantastic skill set in artisan glass, but it is dying out because people are ageing and a great number are no longer working in the sector, even if they would like to give back.

I know one or two people who were in this space and left it, which is another difficulty. They were fantastic glass cutters but they could not make a business out of it or keep it going. The idea of a geographic indicator, therefore, is an absolute must. I am sure some of our guests have visited Venice and seen Murano glassware. The high standard can be seen in every shop you enter and the power of that brand is everywhere, regardless of where you go, with intellectual property rights to that. I share my colleagues' concerns regarding, first, the activity of the Department in respect of trying to move this application forward. I have had interaction with the IP office in Kilkenny, which does good work, but I am not sure how strong its resource base is to try to progress this quickly, which is something we might note as a committee.

A key ingredient in glass-making is the raw glass, which relates to furnacing. There is currently a furnace in the House of Waterford Crystal and a small furnace in Kite Design Studios and I think there is one in Heritage Irish Crystal. Those are the three I am aware of in Waterford in any event. The first issue is that people have to get access to molten glass and have a pathway to do that, especially if they are not allied with a company. Will Mr. O'Connor outline the idea of there being a craftsman's area and how this would all work in the context of governance, employment and how people will be remunerated?