Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise what is a serious issue for Wicklow. Yesterday, we received by e-mail the announcement that Ardmore Studios were being placed for sale on the open market. This raises serious questions for Enterprise Ireland and the Government about the development of the film industry in Wicklow, given the industry's significant jobs potential for our county.

As most people are aware, Ardmore Studios are the birthplace and foundation of the Irish film industry. Ardmore is an amazing success story that should be built on, not sold. The 18-acre site is crucial to the development of the film industry in Wicklow and, indeed, the nation. Productions at Ardmore have won 14 Oscars and many BAFTA, Golden Globe and Emmy awards, including for such well-known films as "Braveheart", "My Left Foot" and "Excalibur" and, in the modern television era, "Moone Boy", "The Tudors" and "Penny Dreadful".

The film industry is key to the economic development of Ireland, with up to 500 jobs associated with Ardmore when it is at full capacity. It has been at full capacity for the past two years, earning profits of €1.5 million and €1.6 million, respectively. Significant public investment by successive Governments and Wicklow County Council has been made in the site for decades and the industry has grown through section 481 tax measures.

The Government, through Enterprise Ireland, has a 32% shareholding in the site according to yesterday's RTE business news. What is the reason behind the Government's sale of the site? The announcement of the sale as a going concern is worrying because there is a substantial risk that it will be sold to the highest bidder, who could be a developer and have nothing to do with the film industry. Will the Government confirm that the sale is conditional and Ardmore will be retained as a film production centre, with no ifs or buts about it? I just want a simple confirmation that the site will remain for the film industry. Film production is a national strategic industry and the Government, through Enterprise Ireland, should retain a direct shareholding interest in it via Ardmore.

Following the civil war and at the beginning of the determined efforts by Seán Lemass to modernise the Irish economy, Emmet Dalton, friend and comrade of Michael Collins, convinced his old civil war enemy, Seán Lemass, to invest in the film industry and build a studio at Ardmore on a 37-acre site, which opened in 1958. If Seán Lemass could be convinced by Emmet Dalton that the State should be involved in the film industry, it is ironic that a Fine Gael-led Government could be about to see that dramatic partnership end.

As a representative of a key shareholder, will the Minister of State confirm that the sale of the studios will be conditional on its continuance as a centre for film production?

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