Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The total figure for TG4 is a little bit more than €60 million. The Deputy is right that it does excellent work. You will not find too many flip-flops down in Baile na hAbhann, from what I see. I did not see many Renaults in the car park being offered by way of a raffle or anything like that either.

With regard to regional uplift, the Government brought this in before. With any uplifts, they have been tested by the European Commission with regard to EU state aid and to make sure they do not in any way infringe on competition. I met screen producers in Galway last week as part of the Film Fleadh. There were producers there from counties Donegal, Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and a couple of other places. It is important to point out that even without a regional uplift, the work of Screen Ireland is hugely important. I was told clearly in all of the studios I visited in Los Angeles that the best film commission anywhere in the world is Screen Ireland. It does an amazing job. Either last year or the year before, the net worth of the film industry here hit €1 billion. It is not just film; it is also gaming and television. Screen Ireland is really important.

Outside of that, there are requests that we look at regional uplift. It would have to be looked at in the round of the budget. It is a Department of Finance issue because it comes in under section 481 of the Finance Act. We are at an early stage. We still have not bedded down the national development plan. As soon as that finishes, the negotiations will then start. As I said here the last day, film has been transformative in my region with the advent of Troy Studios. There are other places around the country that could be benefit from it. It is a lot more expensive to conduct work in Cahersiveen-----