Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am just making the point. This is an industry which is very mobile. There are clearly challenges in the modern era in respect of it. Individuals would need to be consulted as well to ascertain their desired outcomes. However, there should be no blacklisting of individuals who take a stand or who have a particular perspective on issues. That should not happen. I can see the complexity around security of tenure, pensions and so on, although I do not think it is as simple as was articulated. That said, workers need rights even in sectors that are more challenging than traditional, conventional ones. The balance between that and facilitating investment in the film production industry must be weighed up as well. I am open to the best avenue to pursue this.

Deputy Paul Murphy spoke about the work experience programme. I genuinely believe activation works. This is not about suppressing wages at all. From the experience of talking to people who availed of job experience programmes, they have led to permanent employment and career development for many people. The funding for this programme is higher than anything to do with JobBridge and it is voluntary. Many young people, often rightly, say they do not have experience in a given area. These programmes give a person the experience to pursue that career in a particular firm because these are experience programmes of short-term duration and are not open-ended. Therefore, they provide a platform to enable people to get the skills and experience they can use to get more permanent jobs. Work activation works and has been proven to work in the past.

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