Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 November 2018
11. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will report on meetings she held recently with stakeholders in the film industry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47421/18]
View answerThe Finance Bill is going through the Houses at present. Section 481, dealing with tax relief for the film industry, amounts to €70 million or €80 million a year. It is positive that we are investing in the film industry but, as the Minister knows, given it was discussed at length at the all-party Oireachtas committee, there are quite serious disputes and issues over working conditions in the film industry. The all-party Oireachtas committee recommended that there be a stakeholder forum where all stakeholders get together to discuss the future of the industry. I want to know which film industry stakeholders the Minister met recently. When will the forum be convened? Can we have assurances that all stakeholders will be asked to attend that forum?
My Department and I have a strong relationship with the film industry, with meetings and other interaction taking place on an ongoing basis. This is particularly true of the relationship with Fís Éireann, the State's agency for the development of the film industry which comes under the remit of my Department. Fís Éireann is funded by my Department and in budget 2019 I announced an increase of 14% in the 2019 Fís Éireann allocation, bringing it to €20.04 million.
Most recently, I met a delegation from Universal Pictures in Los Angeles. In October I met the Fís Éireann chair, Annie Doona, and the chief executive officer, James Hickey, along with officials of my Department. In September I visited the animation production studio of Brown Bag Films and in August I met Neil Jordan on the occasion of his donation of his archive to the National Library. I visited Troy Studios earlier in the year and, later this month, I hope to visit the set of "Sweetness in the Belly". Officials from my Department have recently met with the IBEC audio-visual committee, representatives from TG4 and representatives from the Irish Film Workers Association, among other engagements.
As part of the Government's audio-visual action plan, which was launched last June, I established an oversight steering group charged with the overall implementation of the plan's recommendations. I have put this in place as previous strategic plans have lacked an agency or group responsible for implementation. This steering group has met three times. The group includes representatives of all Departments and State agencies with involvement in the audio-visual industry. The steering group will report to me at regular intervals and is engaging proactively with stakeholders in the film industry.
Screen Training Ireland, which is a division of Screen Ireland, plans to hold an inaugural screen industry education forum on 19 November. The aim of this annual event is to bring screen industry stakeholders, education-training providers and policy influencers together to focus on the skills development challenges and opportunities of the screen sectors in Ireland. My Department is also engaging with Fís Éireann in regard to the holding of an industry forum, which the Deputy mentioned, in the near future.
The screen education-training forum is important and is long overdue because there is still no proper structure for training and progression for trainees. However, the industry forum is critical. This was recommended by the all-party Oireachtas committee and we need to know it is going to happen. As the Minister knows, there are very serious issues that need to be resolved in the interests of everybody in the industry, so we need that forum to happen. I am sure the Minister is aware there is a lot of controversy around this. The position of the Government has to be absolutely clear that all stakeholders, whether representatives of workers, producers or otherwise - namely, all those who work in the industry - need to be represented to address whether workers' rights are being fully vindicated in the industry, whether section 481 and public investment in the film industry are being properly policed, what benefit we are getting in terms of employment and, in particular, the requirement for quality employment and training in the industry. I am seeking assurances that the Minister will ensure that this forum happens and soon.
The Deputy has my assurance in that regard. I would be open to any suggestions he has on resolving the inter-union disputes in regard to the industry forum. It is the unions which are not talking to each other. My Department is working very closely with others to try to get this up and running but, unfortunately, there are inter-union issues, which were highlighted by the transmission of the "Prime Time" programme, which focused on bullying and harassment in the film and television industry. As a result of that, implementation is proving very challenging.
At a meeting I had on 17 October with Screen Ireland, it discussed proposals for the holding of this forum and for the appointment of an independent chair. Following the meeting, Screen Ireland has made significant progress, having prepared draft terms of reference for the forum and circulating them to my Department, with proposals for the independent chair as well as the proposed speakers at the forum, and with reference to Screen Producers Ireland. Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of difficulty because of that. Screen Ireland issued a press release condemning harassment in the workplace. It is important to note that employees in every industry and sector are entitled to all existing legal protections. The Deputy may be aware that Kieran Mulvey has been appointed as mediator and has been trying to get everybody involved in this forum.
The "Prime Time" programme certainly outlined the disputes that exist. However, it was a bit of a travesty in terms of balance because it tried to imply that one group alone was responsible for problems in the industry and deliberately ignored evidence from other sources, for example, from workers in the industry and in particular from a number of organisations such as the GMB and SIPTU-Equity, whose representative, for example, said blacklisting was widespread in the industry.
The point is that no group should have a veto on whether this forum happens. The forum should happen. Everybody should be involved and these issues should be resolved. I agree there are internecine trade union disputes and so on, but it is not a trade union forum; it is an industry stakeholders forum. Trade unions should be invited but all representatives of workers and all stakeholders need to get into a room to resolve this in the interests of the film industry. While I appreciate the Minister's response, we have to force the pace of this and ensure that industry forum happens and that nobody tries to boycott or sabotage it.
As I said, I would welcome suggestions from the Deputy on how we could get the unions to come together. The Deputy will be aware that SIPTU will not allow the Irish Film Workers Association, with which, as far I am aware, he is working, to come to the table. Screen Ireland and the Department want it to happen and it is hoped that Mr. Kieran Mulvey will be successful in bringing people together. Mr. Mulvey has been engaged to start conversation. The Screen Directors Guild of Ireland, which represents the majority of Irish film workers, has expressed concern about ongoing labour relations issues, including wild cat protests and intimidation, which it says was instigated by a minority of workers within the film industry and is causing long-term damage to Ireland on the global stage and is not representative of its members.
I understand that Mr. James Hickey of Screen Ireland wrote to Deputies Boyd Barrett and Tóibín on 5 November in regard to the issues raised in the "Prime Time" programme.
I did not receive a letter from him.
Screen Ireland has a comprehensive dignity at work policy. Also, legislation is being brought forward by my Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, in regard to security and predictability of working hours for employees on insecure contracts and those working variable hours.
I would be careful about the narrative that a minority of people in the industry are doing this, that or the other. There are accusations flying from all directions. I would not take anything related to the "Prime Time" piece as read. We need to get to the substantial issues, which are predictability and continuity of employment and whether the public investment in the industry is securing what the tax relief is supposed to in law achieve, which is quality employment and training. It is critical that the forum happens and that we have an open airing of the different perspectives and come to a solution which allows the industry as a whole to move forward. The accusations and counter-accusations seem to be designed to prevent getting a resolution to this important question, which if we get it right will be to the benefit of the film industry and the country.
I note what the Deputy is saying. I reiterate that if he has any suggestions, other than the appointment of Mr. Kieran Mulvey-----
The forum.
If the Deputy has any suggestions on how deal with the inter-union issues he should forward them to my Department. In regard to what was written in the letter from Screen Ireland, I urge caution.
