Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I am aware of that but I am referring directly to the people involved in the specific high end of the digital sector, the television film sector. That indication is very positive. I hope that is the outcome at the end of the year.

There is an informal tracking of jobs through the Arts Council and I can examine whether we can put it on a formal tracking basis through the CSO or some other mechanism. It is probably more difficult to do that because it is diffuse in the sense of its dispersement, not in the sense of its importance.

I am very conscious of that and I have tried hard to address it with support from the Deputies. It is very important when we talk about the arts sector to continually make the point that it is not some added extra in good times. It is very much at the heart of economic activity of this country and very much at the heart of the broadest creative sector including in technology — in companies like Intel. Many of the creative people that are developing come out of this area or are formed in this type of situation and I think we need to try and do that. I accept that there will be some pain to be borne. There is no point in denying it. However, I believe we have done as much as we can to protect the primacy and importance of the jobs in the sector. I recognise that the sector makes an enormous contribution to tourism and the hard economy rather than simply cultural tourism and in addition brings international respect for Ireland.

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