Mr. James Hickey:

Mr. O'Connor made a point on the Government not being able to fund film studios.

The technical point is that EU state aid rules apply to the funding of film studios. It is possible for the Government to fund film studios as long as they are done on a commercial basis. Through the expert group set up by the Taoiseach, we are referring people who want to access State funding for film studios to the Irish Strategic Investment Fund, which comes out of the NTMA and provides funding on a state aid cleared basis. This means loans and equity investment in projects rather than grants. Mr. Joe O'Connell was referring to the fact that it is not possible to give grants to construct film studios. It is possible to have public private partnerships that include lending arrangements.

With regard to Irish creative talent, particularly acting talent, we can take someone like Jack Reynor, who is now a major international star, but started out on Irish Film Board funded films like "Dollhouse" and a wonderful production of "What Richard Did". That is where Jack started and we are proud to have supported him and that he is now on the world stage.