Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that the Deputy acknowledges that seven of ten Irish films had a female protagonist, of which we are justly proud. She is correct that we cannot rest on our laurels and I will support Screen Ireland's work in proactively seeking to increase the number of female directors, in particular. In the past year, female-led Irish films have included "The Breadwinner", "Float like a Butterfly", "Kissing Candice", "A Girl from Mogadishu", and "A Mother Brings her Son to be Shot". There are many excellent films with high numbers of female protagonists.

On specific initiatives, Screen Ireland has a six-point action plan. It is working to achieve enhanced levels of diversity in films and screen content and has several gender-focused funding initiatives to develop this, which are aimed at the under-representation of women in Irish film. Considerable progress has been made through these initiatives. There are many incentives geared towards directly increasing the numbers of female writers, directors and producers.

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