Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for a very comprehensive response and for being open, whether on Report Stage here or on Dáil Committee Stage. It really does not matter, as we are all here for the common good to progress and strengthen the Bill and to make it workable. Whether it is in this House or in the Dáil, at the end of the day it will not matter that much. I heard an indication of openness to amendment No. 223 relating to independent production companies. I also heard an openness to amendment No. 215, which is about Irish culture and language and those works. That is very welcome. The Minister referred to the content levy and not prescribing a percentage in legislation. I often think about the statutory requirement that RTÉ has for a minimum spend on independent productions. That is written into the Broadcasting Act 2009. It has value of approximately €40 million. It is a comparison for where we in legislation prescribe that a certain amount be spent on a certain thing. Independent production companies are an obvious parallel, and €40 million is a significant amount. The difference is that it is public money that is prescribed to RTÉ. I see parallels in the fact that we have statutory rules around that spend from RTÉ and independent production companies. We should also have that statutory obligation in this legislation. I am in disagreement about prescribing when it should start and about the percentage. Some flexibility for the media commission to set the percentage levy is important but I am in disagreement about whether we should put it in this Bill. We need to have confidence. It comes back to what I spoke about at the start. We move mountains in this country for film and we have a great reputation around the world. There seem to be tax breaks everywhere for film so the tax break alone does not bring productions here. It is a great location. We give access to our UNESCO heritage sites such as Sceilg Mhichíl. The Minister's increased investment in Screen Ireland has been commendable as was the work for decades on the part of the Irish Film Board, which is now Screen Ireland. We need to be confident in our offer and we should not be afraid of this levy. We should not be afraid of providing for it in legislation. I will probably press amendment No. 208.