Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I welcome the Minister. A petition will go to the High Court on Monday relating to the winding up of the company running the Light House Cinema in Smithfield and it would be a terrible shame if it were to be successful. It should either be rejected or adjourned to facilitate a solution.

The Light House is an art-house facility, originally part of the heritage area rejuvenation project proposals, which began in 1995 with commercial, retail, residential and cultural elements. Part of the community gain was the cultural element, although this never properly transpired and Smithfield did not develop as envisaged. The anchor project for culture has been the Light House Cinema, which has provided a very good service to the entire city. It is the only facility of its kind on the north side of the city.

The cinema is currently operating on a lease with a developer, Mr. John Flynn, and the figure was set at €100,000 in 2008; in 2010 the lease was increased to €200,000, doubling in a very short time. It is bad to have upward only rents and leases but it is a scandal to have such a system operating in a recession. The programme for Government has a commitment to put an end to upward only rents and leases in the commercial sector. That will not be resolved at this stage but we can deal with it in future.

The State has a very substantial input into the project and €1.75 million has been provided through the Minister's Department, the Irish Film Board and the Arts Council. It would be a disaster for all that to be lost. It is difficult to see what the developer can get out of this as the facility is subject to planning conditions stipulating cultural development. It would be very difficult to close the cinema and replicate something of a cultural nature in the area that would be as productive as the cinema. The developer is already getting €100,000 per annum.

I understand NAMA is involved and there are some suggestions that pressure is being brought to bear on the developer from NAMA to increase the rent. It is an absentee landlord who is involved in the first instance as he now resides in Florida; many of the people with financial problems now live abroad. NAMA should be seeking a return on its property portfolio and part of the programme for Government is a proposal that some of the property in the agency should be released to the market. The market is currently stagnant because NAMA is sitting on vast tracts of property. The local authority or others may be interested in retail or residential properties such as this if they were on the market or if NAMA disposed of them.

Such issues can be considered but in the short term there will be a petition before the court next Monday. There is a risk that this singular cultural facility will have to be wound up and closed down and there is the investment of the State in the project running to €1.75 million to consider. We can also consider the planning commitment, established under the statutory rejuvenation project, to maintain a cultural space with associated activities. This is the flagship cultural project of the north of the city, located in the heart of the inner city. It would be a terrible shame if we were to lose it.

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