Brian Walsh (Galway West, Fine Gael)

I wish to share my time with Deputy Áine Collins.

I am grateful to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me the opportunity to speak on this Bill. As other Members have already outlined, it is a technical Bill which is modest in the scope of its provisions, but to my mind it is significant in its potential to bring creative and commercial benefits to Irish culture and the Irish economy.

The legislation does not propose changes to the existing policy, it merely raises the cumulative level of funding available to the Irish Film Board during the lifetime of the organisation. It increases the figure from €200 million to €300 million.

Last week, we witnessed a fine example of the fruits that such an investment can bear. An ambitious television series tracking the development of the Titanic in Belfast received a grant from the Irish Film Board and has already begun filming in Ireland. The film is expected to cost in the region of €22 million and, of this, some €12 million will be spent in the Irish economy on goods and services. This will help to support the 200 jobs created arising from the making of the film in Ireland. Such projects have been brought to our shores as a result of the innovation and hard work of the members of the Irish Film Board. The board regularly provides a considerable boost to our international profile, stimulates people's interest in visiting our country and provides a boost to the economy in general. The television series is the latest in a plethora of commercial and creative successes that have punctuated the history of the Irish Film Board since it was formed in the early 1980s. Since then it has performed commendably in identifying and nurturing the wealth of indigenous talents from within Ireland's growing film industry.

One of the first beneficiaries of the Irish Film Board in 1982 was the Oscar-winning director Neil Jordan. He has since emerged as one of the giants of international cinema. Others have secured their big breaks under the auspices of the Irish Film Board before embarking on glittering careers in the industry overseas. The industry represents an area of great potential for Ireland.

Earlier, I listened to the contribution of Deputy Finian McGrath and to my mind some of his comments were disingenuous. He suggested that the Minister should up his game. We are all aware that the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, has already brought together an interdepartmental committee which is considering the recommendations of the Creative Capital report. This is an ambitious report and the Minister's aim is to double the value of the industry to Ireland and to bring it to €1 billion per year within five years and, as others have stated, to increase the numbers employed in the industry from more than 5,000 to more than 10,000 in a five year period. Deputy McGrath should inform himself better before he makes such statements in the House. The Minister, Deputy Deenihan, has a deep, personal interest in the arts and an appreciation of the value of the film industry. He has already acted swiftly to tap into the great potential in the Irish film industry.

It is timely that the Bill should come before the House in the week following the inauguration of my fellow constituent and former colleague, the President, Mr. Michael D. Higgins, to whom the film board and the industry owe a great debt of gratitude for his work in this area over the years. It was the President, Mr. Higgins, who reactivated the Irish Film Board in his role as Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht in 1993, some six years after it had been disbanded in 1987. The abolition of the board was a blunt and retrograde act, ignorant of the contribution that the Irish Film Board had made to a labour-intensive industry that has served the country well. The then Minister and now President, Mr. Higgins, upon entering office as Minister, committed to re-establishing the Irish Film Board as part of a highly ambitious programme of cultural promises that were seen by many as over-reaching at the time. While discussing the Bill it is appropriate to acknowledge his marvellous contribution to the arts in general and specifically to the film industry during his time in the Dáil. Expectations are similarity high now following his elevation to new office but I have no doubt he will be equally successful in fulfilling his great promise in his role as President.

I support the Bill and I commend the Minister on his work to date in this area.

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