Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On 18 October 2016, a press release announced the sale of Ardmore Studios, which included the 32% State shareholding. Alarm bells immediately sounded when I and other public representatives were denied access to the prospectus of sale in order to clarify whether the studio was being sold as prime development land. Why was the State selling its large holding of shares in Ardmore Studios with no guarantees that it would remain at the heart of the film industry? Our concerns were proven right when RTÉ received access to the prospectus of which two pages were devoted to the potential development of the Ardmore site for residential housing. In December 2016, we met the then Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor, and officials from the Department and Enterprise Ireland. The outcome of the meeting was an assurance from the then the Minister that there would be a further meeting should any decision to sell the State's shareholding be reached. At that meeting, we would all be given the reasons why the 32% was being sold on a triple-lock condition that Ardmore's future as a film studio was secure, that the Government's regional jobs strategy supported the growth of the film industry in Wicklow and that the zoning was secured by Wicklow County Council in the Bray area plan to prevent any speculation.

On Friday, another corporate press release confirmed the sale of Ardmore Studios, including the State shareholding for an undisclosed price, to Olcott Entertainment, a holding company established only one month ago and directly connected to Troy Studios in Limerick. The taxpayers of Ireland deserve to know why commitments given by the Department to consult with public representatives and the local authority were broken. They also deserve to know if the lead Department for the film industry, namely, the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht was consulted as promised. It is the Minister's former Department. Taxpayers also need to know the amount for which their shareholding of 32% was sold.

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