Michael Conaghan (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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I thank the delegations. One of our main objectives is to listen to people and communicate that into policy at departmental and ministerial level. The Minister attends the committee to listen to sets of ideas that evolve over time and the witnesses are contributing to that process today. Much of the debate conducted by the committee relates to multinationals and that has overshadowed the debate on job creation. The committee is determined now to examine local and smaller industries, including the creative industries because they draw on many untapped indigenous strengths. I refer in particular to animation, the raw material for which is Irish stories and the great sagas and yarns of the past. These can be turned into a visual format and internationalised while creating employment.

I was involved in Ballyfermot college for a long time and I recall the first time the board debated animation, probably in the 1980s. Many people thought it was a daft idea but a group of people persisted with it and then when Mr. Walsh came in, everything changed. He took it by the scruff of the neck and he ran with it along with his staff. It has created a great sense of pride in the area. Signs have been put up reading, "From Ballyfermot to Hollywood" and "From Ballyfermot to the Oscars". One cannot imagine the sense of pride that local kids, teachers and schools have as a result of the great achievements that the college has worked so hard for.

The committee must examine indigenous industries, including the creative industries, as a counterbalance to the multinationals and FDI. While they are important, it is also important that this side of the debate is fostered and that people such as Mr. Walsh participate in the formation of ideas and opinions, which we can bring to the Minister and the Department, about funding and investment and outline what is happening on the ground to ensure our economy becomes balanced between the national and indigenous and the multinational rather than being lopsided one way or the other. From that point of view, the presence of the delegations is welcome and I am delighted that animation was one of the first categories to be debated.

While there will be lots more about other aspects to the creative economy, we have made a very good start here today with something local, Irish and of which so many people are proud. If the people who attend later meetings have as good a story, it will be a very good day's work.