Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking this question.

However, the response I have had is very disappointing on a personal level. I was asked to defer this question from yesterday to today so that the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Heather Humphreys, would be here to answer it. As we all can see, she is not in the Chamber. This raises more suspicion, which is not a word I use lightly, as to what is going on. The State does not have a small shareholding in this industry; it has a 32% stake. I fully agree with the Minister of State in regard to the Action Plan for Jobs. There is reference, on pages 5 and 7 of that document, to the unique opportunity Wicklow offers to develop and build on the film industry, with a specific reference to the two studios involved. The State is selling its shareholding in the largest film studio in the country with absolutely no conditions attached. That is totally unacceptable.

In my capacity as a Member of Dáil Éireann for Wicklow, I contacted IBI Corporate Finance yesterday to request a copy of the prospectus of sale in order to study it. My request was refused point blank and I was told to contact Ardmore Studios directly. I then spoke to the CEO of Ardmore Studios, who likewise denied me a copy of the prospectus. What is going on here? I have serious reservations about the Government's role in this sale. It is disappointing and unacceptable that members of the Government do not know what is happening with the State's stake. As I said, I am annoyed that I was asked yesterday to defer this matter on the basis that the Minister would be here today, only to find her absent. There is no appreciation of how important this industry is to Wicklow. The Ardmore site must be maintained as a film studio into the future.

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