Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State and his officials from the Department of Finance to the House. As regards section 481, the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service met representatives from the film industry who made a good case for the retention of the relief. They clearly stated that the Irish film industry would collapse if the tax relief was abolished. We spoke to the Taoiseach at the parliamentary party meeting about that issue and we advised him that it should be retained. The committee met excellent union people who represented actors and crafts people and they pleaded for the tax relief to be kept in place. I am optimistic that it will be kept because it would be crazy to abolish it. There are 4,500 people employed in the film industry and 3,500 young people are currently studying to enter the movie industry because it is a glamorous business. If the tax relief is abolished, the film industry in Ireland will collapse because other countries are copying our success.

I remind Members that 30 years ago we joined the European Economic Community. The Industrial Development Authority of Ireland set out to brand Ireland as the best location in Europe for international investment. Dr. William Harris, the chief executive officer of Science Foundation Ireland, said that the strategy over the past 30 years has been most successful for this country and has left the world in awe of our accomplishments and achievements. He also said it is a role model for other developing countries throughout the world. We have moved from an agricultural economy to a manufacturing one. When the unemployment rate was more than 18%, thousands of young people emigrated every year. However, the opposite is the case today. Some 95% of people are employed and, to date, 41,000 people from poorer countries have come to this country looking for jobs. No one would have believed that would happen when we joined the EU.

I warn Members and those in Government that in May next year ten new eastern European countries will join the EU – Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia and the Mediterranean countries of Malta and Cyprus. These new entrants to the EU want what we have and they will compete fiercely on the basis of price and performance just as Ireland has done. It is more difficult to stay on top than people realise. It is easier to get to the top than to stay there. One has only to look at Manchester United and other football teams to see what can happen. It is easy to become complacent whether one is in business, education or Government. The challenge is to remain focused on performance and facts if we want to sustain our development.

I have a few facts which relate to the future performance of the economy. The recent OECD chart for Government research and development spend as a proportion of GDP shows that Ireland is ranked 22 out of 24 countries. We are at the bottom of the league. According to the expert group on future skills needs, there is an annual shortfall of 2,500 trained professionals from third level for the years 2000 to 2005. We also have an annual shortfall of 800 technicians and we have 25% fewer engineering or science graduates than three or four years ago. How will that help to sustain the development of high technology in our economy?