Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate that he is only reading the figures given to him by the Department of Finance. It is clear that the Department is not committed to the development of a regional film and television industry on the basis of this response. That is quite disappointing. It is also clear that the Department does not understand the importance of section 481 and the regional uplift. The fact that everyone in the sector saw new productions coming into the regions that would not have happened if it were not for the uplift. It was well-intentioned and was interrupted by Covid. The scheme was only getting going and then it disappeared. The Minister of State made the point that it was temporary, as agreed with the European Commission. Did any further negotiation with the European Commission take place? I do not believe so. Given the fact there was an interruption, if we were to consider temporarily extending the scheme to allow it to continue until 2028 in line with the current section 481 arrangements, that would allow us to develop a strong regional film and television sector. We must give it a chance.

I ask the Minister of State to ask the Minister for Finance to reconsider this matter. The scheme is important for the development of the sector in the regions. The Department does not fully understand how important the uplift is.