Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 16: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism when he intends to make appointments to the Irish Film Board; the criteria for such appointments; the steps he will take to ensure that among the appointments there will be persons with suitable experience of Irish film production. [5171/05]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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On 17 January 2005, I announced the appointment of an Irish Film Board to serve until 16 January 2009. The board members are: James Morris, Chair; Mr. Alan Gilsenan; Ms Margaret McCarthy MacIntyre; Mr. Tristan Orpen Lynch; Ms. Lesley McKimm; Mr. Kevin Moriarty; and Ms Kirsten Sheridan.

Alan Gilsenan and Margaret McCarthy-MacIntyre both served on the previous board. The remainder are new appointments. All have been selected for their capacity to contribute to the development of the Irish film sector over the coming years. An examination of their backgrounds in the following appendix will confirm the relevance of their expertise and experience.

APPENDIX

Irish Film Board

JAMES MORRIS (Chair) is a graduate of Trinity College and trained as a Film Editor in London. He founded Windmill Lane Pictures and Recording Studios on his return to Dublin. He led the Windmill Consortium to win the television franchise for TV3 in 1989. In 1990 he founded The Mill — Film and TV Post Production Company in London. He was appointed non-executive Chairman of TV3 in 1998. He joined the board of the Dublin Film Festival in 2004.

ALAN GILSENAN is an award-winning filmmaker and theatre director. AlanGilsenan's films include The Road to God Knows Where, Prophet Songs, Stories from the Silence, God Bless America, The Green Fields of France, All Souls' Day, Private Dancer, Zulu 9, The Irish Empire, Road II, The Ghost of Roger Casement, Sing on Forever and Timbuktu.

He is Chairperson of the Irish Film Institute, and a member of Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board since 2001 and has been reappointed by Minister John O'Donoghue for a second term.

MARGARET McCARTHY MacINTYRE is a former secondary teacher and freelance journalist. She is Director of St. Mary's /Notre Dame's Ireland Programme at NUI Maynooth. She lectures in the History of Irish Culture and has been a member of the Irish Film Board since 2001. She has been reappointed by Minister John O'Donoghue for a second term.

LESLEY McKIMM is an independent Producer who has been working in television drama, film and documentary production for the last 14 years. Her producing credits include the drama series "Any Time Now" for BBC 1 & RTE 1, "No Tears" for RTE 1, "Relative Strangers" for RTE & ZDF and the historical documentary series "In Search of Ancient Ireland" for PBS and RTE. She runs the production company Comet Films.

TRISTAN ORPEN LYNCH has been involved in the Irish film and music industry since 1989. With his company Subotica Films, Tristan has produced a major documentary on the Abbey Theatre for RTE and the feature film Song For a Raggy Boy starring Aidan Quinn and Iain Glen. His most recent production has been the RTE TV drama Proof.

KEVIN MORIARTY is Managing Director of Ardmore Studios. He is Chair of the Kerry Screen Commission and a board member of the Wicklow Film Commission and the Irish Film Institute. Kevin is also Chairman of the Media Desk Ireland.

KIRSTEN SHERIDAN is a writer, director and producer. After graduating with a distinction from Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, design and Technology in 1998. Kirsten followed her award winning college short "Patterns" with an Irish Film Board/RTE short cut "The Case of Majella McGinty". She directed her first feature, the critically acclaimed "Disco Pigs" in 2001 and went on to co-write the Oscar and Golden Globe nominated "In America".