Mary White (Fianna Fail)

The budget was launched today in an atmosphere in which the world economy is beginning to turn around. Ireland will be part of that. It has been said that Senators and back-bench Deputies have no influence. From my personal experience today, that is not true. I lobbied the Minister for Finance, with whom I had a meeting, and wrote to the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Harney, and the Minister of State at that Department, Deputy Michael Ahern, requesting an exemption from stamp duty on intellectual property. To my amazement, as I sat in the Dáil Chamber today, that exemption was announced in the Budget Statement. On that basis, I have no time for any further claims that one cannot be influential through the Seanad. I was asked to make that approach by my nominating body, the Irish Exporters Association.

Furthermore, at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service, representatives of the film industry, including Ardmore Studios, pleaded with us to lobby the Government to retain section 481, which has now been extended for a further four years. That will be very comforting for the 4,500 people working in the film industry in Ireland, including actors, craftspeople and electricians and the 3,500 young people who are studying that industry.

It was apparent at the joint committee meeting that there were many different voices speaking on behalf of the film industry. Due to our success with section 481 over the past ten years, other countries are copying us. We need a visionary organisation driving the film industry. I suggest the Minister set up a development authority for the Irish film industry on similar lines to the IDA.

(Interruptions).