Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

It is an absolute disgrace that we discover on RTÉ and in newspapers over the weekend that a key part of Ireland's cultural and cinematic heritage has been sold.

We hear that the State has sold its share in a deal in which none of the details have been scrutinised and we have no idea about guarantees to protect the future of Ardmore as a film studio.

Incredibly, €7 million has been written off in debts. The company has been sold, according to reports at the weekend, in debt. It has been sold to Olcott Entertainment, a company that was only set up 29 days ago. That company is headed up by Mr. Joe Devine, who is also involved in Troy Studios. The current chief executive officer, CEO, is also linked to Troy Studios and will continue as CEO. I understand Mr. Ossie Kilkenny, who is also involved in Troy Studios, is also involved in all this.

We get the producers and the film board telling us that we have a booming film industry and there is not enough studio space and yet film workers tell me that for the past three years, Ardmore has been completely under-utilised and as we speak, only one stage is being used out of five.

Where is all the money - the €60 million or €70 million - that is given in section 481 funding to production companies going? It is not going into making films at Ardmore. It is going into places such as the asbestos-riddled John Player factory on the South Circular Road, where a film is being made and as we speak, film workers are being forced into a sit-in protest because of the conditions they are being forced to work in. Moreover, "Into the Badlands", which is supposed to be produced in Ardmore, is being produced in the Dublin Sports Hotel, which is a NAMA-owned building and where there are also protests going on as we speak. Why is that filming not being done in Ardmore? The same people who have run down Ardmore will now remain in control of it, and incredibly, the State has sold its stake. It is a disgraceful ready-up.

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