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

I acknowledge Senators' support for the Bill and their recognition of the additional resources for Screen Ireland in budget 2019. I also acknowledge Senator Warfield's welcome of the performance of Screen Ireland in general. Last June, I announced that the national development plan provides for €200 million in funding over 20 years for this sector, which is unprecedented. Senators also acknowledged the provision in budget 2019 of €20.4 million for Screen Ireland.

I will try to respond to some of the points raised today. On employers and employees in general, existing employment legislation is applicable. There are no special exemptions for this sector. All employees are entitled to the legal protections currently provided for in law, as in the case of any other sector. Senator Warfield mentioned the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017, which I also referenced in my opening remarks. It seeks to improve the security and predictability of working hours for employees on insecure contracts and those working variable hours. This legislation responds specifically to a commitment in the programme for Government to address the problems caused by the increased casualisation of work and to strengthen the regulation of precarious work. This Bill has completed all Stages in the Dáil and is currently before Seanad Éireann. I compliment the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, for her work in this regard.I also pay tribute to the previous Minister, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, who is a Minister of State, the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Breen, and also Senator Gerald Nash, who has raised this issue and worked on it when he was Minister of State. They also conducted a study on the prevalence of zero-hour contracts and low-hour contracts. There is also the Workplace Relations Commission, which is an independent statutory body. Many of its core services include the inspection of employment rights compliance, the provision of information and adjudication on complaints. Notwithstanding all of that, I am satisfied that in general terms the industry does work to a very high standard, but we must ensure that everybody works in a respectful and supportive environment. As a Minister in this area I will try to ensure that happens.

Senator Warfield also mentioned the social welfare system. I recently spoke to the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, who was in the House earlier, about expanding social welfare protections to actors. I know the pilot scheme is confined to visual artists and writers but officials from my Department and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection are examining whether we can extend it in any way. I hope to be able to report back to the House in that regard.

Senator Mulherin is not present but she spoke about the regional value, which was something Senator Byrne mentioned as well. In 2017 a significant amount of money went into this area. The film and screen industries had a gross value added of almost €700 million in 2016, which is substantial. There was a total of 12,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the industry in 2016. More recent figures are available in the Olsberg SPI report for the combined film and screen industries.

Senator Higgins complimented the international aspect of the film industry. Even today, Cartoon Saloon was nominated for an Academy Award in the animation sector for "Late Afternoon". The animation sector is a thriving part of the film industry. We have had 20 Academy Award nominations since 2008 in the animation sector, nine Golden Globe nominations, 17 Emmy Award nominations and nine films in the Cannes film festival, some of which we won.

Senator Higgins also mentioned gender parity. Screen Ireland is committed to addressing gender inequality in Irish film-making and screen content, especially in the roles of writers and directors. It is working towards achieving the 50:50 target by 2020 of creative talent working in screen content. There was a significant increase of 62% in applications received with female talent attached, and an 82% increase in funding awards with female talent attached in 2018.

I will return to the regional uplift. Senator Byrne mentioned Limerick in particular and the good work that is being done there in Troy Studios. That is something we want to see replicated. That is the reason we provided a 5% uplift in the section 481 provision in budget 2019. Dr. Annie Doona, chair of Screen Ireland, commented that consistent Government support for the section 481 relief is imperative to enable Screen Ireland to promote Ireland as an attractive international destination for film and TV production. She specifically highlighted the 5% increase and said it will provide an additional incentive to increase Irish international production activity from Cork to Limerick and Galway to Donegal, developing jobs and investment across the regions. She said she also looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that the process of implementing section 481 continues to be improved upon. The film industry is growing. The Olsberg report states that it is hoped to double the turnover in the next five years. We must ensure there are standards and we are working with Screen Ireland in that regard. I appreciate the contributions from all Senators.