Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I am glad we have made progress in this area. I accept that the Minister has genuinely tried to take on board some of the points I made on what I would have had regarded as a totally unsustainable proposal in terms of cost to create an Irish film channel with no way of raising money to finance itself and therefore would have to be financed by the Exchequer or another form of levy system.

The concession from the Minister that he accepts there should be a form of advertising on the channel is welcome. I agree with him that the advertising should be somewhat restricted. We should ensure that we can play on such a channel full length films uninterrupted by advertising. I accept what the Minister is trying to do. I still have some concerns about the structure of an Irish film channel in the context of the other channels with which it must compete. However, I recognise that the Irish film industry can be provided with a new outlet here whether it is for documentaries or short films.

With regard to the Minister's view of how this channel will develop, will it be for Irish made film only or will a certain quota be set for Irish made film with non-Irish film broadcast on the channel. If we are to introduce a commercial element, it is necessary to play a blockbuster to get sufficient audiences to make advertising worthwhile and, more importantly, to expose the audiences to Irish film which otherwise they would never watch. This should not be allowed to become a niche arts channel in which only a very small number of people or those connected with the Irish film industry would watch. We should attempt strategically to attract large audiences by showing very popular movies and then introducing Irish short film, animation and documentaries between them so we expose as many people as possible to the talents in the Irish film industry. I am happy to withdraw amendment No. 30 because it is catered for in amendment No. 31 tabled by the Minister.

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