Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)

Of course, she is another one. There is an excellent basis in Boyle for a very good film festival and it already has one of the better arts festivals in the country. I performed the opening ceremony this year and I was very impressed.

Deputy Donohoe mentioned the Lighthouse cinema. Some progress has been made in efforts to re-open it and it is hoped there will be developments. He also referred to the animation sector and Cathal Gaffney who is the managing director of Brown Bag Productions, a very successful company. He was also involved in the creation and production of the Creative Capital report, to which he devoted months of his time.

State support is vital to the film industry as the indigenous industry would not be able to survive without it. Section 481 and investment by the Irish Film Board are critical to the development of the Irish film industry. The return is very obvious and every euro expended brings a return of €10. The benefits to the country from the film industry and film production have not been fully measured and many are intangible.

I refer to the important contribution to the training and education of film-makers made by colleges such as Ballyfermot. When I was in opposition we all worked together with regard to section 481 to have it extended to 2015. Agreement was reached between all the spokespersons and the Minister to extend the section to 2015. This is one area in which politics benefited everybody.

Deputy Corcoran Kennedy referred to the Irish Film Institute which has done excellent work. A very important film archive is not stored in the best conditions and new storage is required. As a result of collaboration between NUI Maynooth and the Irish Film Institute, it is hoped that proper storage will be provided in the right environment to ensure this valuable archive of film shot in this country will be preserved for the future.

Last week I launched a DVD of all the all-Ireland finals from 1947 to 1959. These were filmed by an American company. In 1947, when Kerry played Cavan in New York, the president of the GAA had the vision to ask an American film company to film the final in New York and this company filmed the all-Ireland finals up to when the national television service was established. This is a very interesting and important recording from the point of view of social history. It shows people going to the matches, how they dressed and the films show how the game has evolved in terms of athleticism. I was pleased to be in a position to give €120,000 towards the cost of this purpose-built archive in Maynooth.

I thank the Acting Chairman and all those who contributed and listened to the debate. I welcome all the contributions and thank the Deputies for remaining in the House. This is an area where there is general agreement. We should all be very proud of our film industry and be supportive of the initiatives being taken at present, in particular by the Irish Film Board.

See this speech in context