Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I asked for five minutes but I may wander a little beyond that if that is in order. It turns out I may have more to say than I originally anticipated, based on contributions from colleagues and the Minister of State's earlier response. One thing the Minister of State and her officials in the Department could usefully consider is directly engaging with people who work in the industry. She put on the record her own interest in the industry in her earlier contribution. On behalf of colleagues in Irish Equity, I made contact to request that the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and her officials meet with Irish Equity representatives to discuss the recommendations of this report and aspects of the operation of the audiovisual industry. I am thankful that the officials in the Minister's Department have agreed to meet with those representatives to discuss the report and related issues. However, as colleagues have already said, a number of Departments have oversight of, and in interest in, the operation of this very vibrant and dynamic sector, of which we are all very proud. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has an interest from the perspective of employment rights. The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin's Department also has an interest. In the context of the section 481 tax relief, it would be useful for the Minister of State and the officials in her Department to hear directly from those operating in the sector.

I know Deputy Boyd Barrett will not mind if I pay tribute to him for his initiative in driving this exploration of issues in this sector at the Committee on Budgetary Oversight. Although I am a member of the committee, I was not directly involved in many of the meetings, although I certainly had input in the process and have a deep interest in this sector. My own party is very closely connected with the development of the Irish film sector. Of course, it was Michael D. Higgins, our current President and the former Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, who was the first full Cabinet Minister to put such a great emphasis on the development of the Irish film industry, in the early to late 1990s, such that we can now call it an industry in its own right and in the truest sense of the word. One of those contributions was the creation of important tax incentives and supports to create an industry that had barely existed up until that point. The industry employs thousands of people across the country and its cultural influence has spread far and wide. It is something we all should value.

I was quite taken with something that Michelle Quinn of Irish Equity said at the committee a number of months ago. I am paraphrasing her contribution but she said that the Irish taxpayer was the most important stakeholder with regard to section 481. She, Irish Equity and others are absolutely right. This is a significant tax incentive and the relief provided to industry involves significant expenditure. It is important that it is properly managed on behalf of the Irish citizen and the Irish taxpayer. We cannot always say that every tax relief and tax expenditure is properly managed or that every one is properly and frequently scrutinised as recommended by the Commission on Taxation and Welfare in the context of a range of different expensive but important tax incentives.

It is important that we use our tax system to encourage and incentivise public policy initiatives that are considered important. I always say, and this should be of no surprise to anybody, that there should never be any significant tax incentives or cash provided to a particular sector or industry without conditions. That is bad public policy. It is even worse public policy when we feign or express disinterest in what happens with an industry that is generously supported by the Irish taxpayer, and for good reason. We understand why and we all support that. The question of support for a sector that is so important for us economically, socially and culturally is not at issue here.

Workers' rights have to be put at the heart of the continued operation of this incentive. As other colleagues said, Equity is concerned about the protection of its members rights to copyright and intellectual property, and how both are under threat from streaming services. That is a live issue. I say that as somebody with many friends and supporters who are actors and who work in the film and audiovisual sector more generally. I also put on the record, even though I am no longer involved, that I spent time as a director on the board of organisations making productions for the television and film industry and theatre companies. I have an interest in this from the finance side, the business side and from the point of view of the interests of those working in the sector.

Equity has called for compliance with copyright and intellectual property rights to be a full eligibility requirement for section 481. It has noted that Ireland is currently behind the curve in protecting those rights. That is an important point, because we should be striving to be best in class across the European Union in that regard.

As we know, Equity has said that buy-out clauses in contracts are routine in Ireland. That effectively means actors and writers, by dint of their circumstances, are often in a position where they often have to sign away their rights for a fee. The real magic for somebody who works in the sector, especially on the creative side, is the ongoing royalties and payment derived from their creativity and their work. That is where the real value is for many workers in the sector.

I will conclude with a couple of brief points. There is, or should be, broad agreement that the forum called for by many operators in the sector and successive Oireachtas reports should be established. I want to reiterate that. It has been resisted for many years. That forum should be considered in the interests of sustaining an industry in the true sense of the word, where skills are constantly updated and where education and ongoing professional development are a key feature. The message should go out from this Chamber unanimously, from the Opposition and Government, that the forum is a positive idea and something that industry and trade unions should get behind.

This is a really important piece of work. As the saying goes, it should not be left to rot on a shelf in Ministers' offices in the coming period of time. We have an opportunity to do some really important things for this sector and the people who work in it. Let us do it. Let us stop talking about it and let us action it.

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