Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yes, but the Ceann Comhairle will agree that in all the different boards which our State has established since its foundation many years ago, boards which are established have committees of the boards and they are recognised and acknowledged because our Constitution says workers have rights to organise and to be protected. When I was Tánaiste and Fine Gael was in government, it agreed at my request to introduce and advance the issue of workers' rights through registered employment agreements and the establishment of a pay commission to ensure fair pay, protection of the minimum wage and a movement to a living wage. Those are all facts and Fine Gael signed up to them. On its own, however, Fine Gael seems to have backtracked and reneged on the notion of protecting workers' rights. That is reflected in our Constitution and in our laws through various structures established by the State.

7 o’clock

This is another State board and as with other State boards, it has the inherent capacity, with the agreement of the Minister and the Department, to provide mechanisms, committees and subcommittees of a board that are a standard feature of State boards and to allow for the proper regulation of employment conditions and the proper examination of the appropriateness of training and education for the industry.

This is important for two reasons. We want young, creative people to be trained and educated to work in this industry. Many of them are not just creative but they have a great love for and interest in the industry. They may be writers of screenplays, actors or technical people working in the support of production. What I have put forward is perfectly legitimate. We heard much talk the last day, and we have heard comments at committees, that there is much difficulty and strife in the industry. The industry has, as a consequence, ended up with a difficult reputation in some countries.

It is the responsibility of the Minister to assist the industry. In a way, the Minister is doing this by increasing the loan capacity of the board, which I support and do not wish to obstruct. I am offering, as a person with much of experience of Government and of different Departments, a mechanism to her which will allow her and her officials to offer leadership in addressing what is clearly a problem in the regulation of the sector, in particular in regard to the terms and conditions of employment that apply in it. It is as simple as that. The Minister would be doing a very significant thing for the progress and viability of the industry. It is a global industry and we are competing against many other countries for this highly regarded and valuable enterprise. We are prepared to support it with significant State funding, both directly, although that is not under discussion in the context of this Bill, and by the provision of loans to allow films to be made. I do not understand why the Minister would resort to creating a financial barrier in this regard.

The other issue in this industry, which has been covered worldwide and which was referred to in the Labour Party amendment, relates to providing a mechanism to address practices relating to gender pay equality in the industry. The Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, and Fine Gael supported as recently as last week. The Minister should not tell me she is not aware of serious difficulties in gender pay equality for women in the industry in Ireland and globally because almost everyone who is prominent in the industry has spoken about it in recent times.

This House has been debating, as has the Seanad, the fact that in this 100th anniversary of votes for women, support for gender pay equality. That is the wish of the people as well. On the 100th anniversary of votes for women, the Minister, as a woman in this Department, should provide the structures whereby gender pay parity in this industry could be both examined and progressed. It is very simple.

I have not asked the Minister for a detailed report, as the other amendments have, because if she established a committee within the remit of the board, she could address a series of questions which would enable the Department to look at the proper development of the industry alongside the existing supports provided. This would ensure that women get proper opportunities and that they get pay parity and, ultimately, respect in the industry. When talking about women's issues, these are the very views the Minister has expressed and supported.

There are other structures in Ireland, which the Minister and the board can consult, such as Quality and Qualifications Ireland. In the private sector of education and training, as I am sure the Minister and her officials are fully aware, a lot of fees are being paid and it is reasonable that students would know that the courses they and their parents are paying for are quality courses that will enable them to get employment in Ireland and abroad, if that is what they wish.

We are looking at a sustainable film industry. I refer to when Yeats and Lady Gregory established the Abbey Theatre. Some of the earliest archival material that is available relates to early film. When Joyce was writing in Dublin, as the Minister is aware, he also had an interest in a cinema on Talbot Street, the Volta, if memory serves me correctly. When one looks at the greats of Irish literature and theatre, all of them professed a very strong interest in what was the whole area of cinema.

"The Quiet Man" is still shown on a rainy day in Connemara and it is still very recognisable to anyone interested in the history of film in Ireland. Moving on to the more recent films, we can see some of the extraordinarily talented people that this country has produced. Let us support and endorse that creativity by examining and ensuring that, as far as possible, a fair regime is established which allows for proper training and qualification, for appropriate experience and which looks at the regulation of employment contracts, salaries, pay and conditions.

Everybody is aware that the film industry is based on films, so in essence it is project-based for the period of time that it takes each film to be made. I am really disappointed in this regard. On the two reports, the late Brian Lenihan, as Minister for Finance, agreed to my request that reports be allowed on the Finance Acts, a much more difficult area than this area of film where we are all largely in agreement. However, somebody in the Bills Office has kiboshed this. We know that the Bills Office and the Department contact each other.

Has the Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, a point to make?

See this speech in context