Ruairí Quinn
Question:4 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach in view of the success of the Irish film My Left Foot, the steps, if any, he proposes to take to develop and strengthen the Irish Film industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Film Industry.
The critical acclaim and commercial success achieved by the producer, the director, the scriptwriters, the cast and all those who were associated with the making of the film My Left Foot will be welcomed on all sides of the House.
The more professional and commercial approach—typified by the production of the film My Left Foot— which has been adopted in recent years by film-makers in this country has resulted in a considerable expansion of the value of our TV and film exports. The value of such exports is estimated by CTT to have amounted to £12 million, £20 million and £25 million for the years 1987, 1988 and 1989 respectively. It is expected that it will amount to £30 million in 1990.
Film making is taxed at a rate of 10 per cent as compared to the normal corporation tax of 43 per cent. Tax relief is also provided for corporate investment in film production under section 35 of the 1987 Finance Act. The maximum ceiling on relief was increased to £600,000 under section 28 of the 1989 Finance Act and the investment may be made either over three years in one or more projects or in a single film in one year. The time limit for the qualifying investments has been extended to 9 July 1992. In addition the business expansion scheme applies to film-making as it is classified as manufacturing and individual investors in film-making companies can get relief from full rates of income tax on dividends.
The development of the Irish film industry is also being aided by a number of State agencies, including RTE, NADCORP, the IDA, CTT, the Arts Council and FÁS.
In addition, my Department continue to monitor opportunities for the involvement of Irish film-makers in projects brought forward in the context of the Ireland-Canada Film and Video Co-Production Treaty, signed on 4 April 1989, or European Community initiatives or the pan-European Eureka Audiovisual Project. These measures have been of significant assistance to our growing commercial film production.
I thank the Taoiseach for his comprehensive reply. Does the Taoiseach not share with me a certain sense of sadness in relation to the fact that the particularly successful film to which this question refers was, in fact, British financed and not Irish financed because all of the measures which he has just discribed were found to be inadequate?
It was not British financed. The British, as is usual, are claiming that it was British financed, but in fact it was not. I was talking to the producer of the film, Mr. Noel Pearson, yesterday about that very point and he expressed to me his considerable indignation that the British were not alone claiming that it was British financed but that it was, in fact, a British film. I am quite surprised that Deputy Quinn should fall into that particular imperialist trap.
Are you going to accept the awards yourself?
I am not falling into any trap because it is the same Taoiseach sitting before us who abolished the Irish Film Board. The one trap that I would hope none of us would fall into at this stage, particularly the Taoiseach, is to have any plans to go to Los Angeles to claim the prize.
I have no particular plans to do so, but it would not be inappropriate that I would do so——
You won the Tour de France.
(Interruptions.)
——because the subject of My Left Foot was a particularly close personal friend of mine and I am very happy that this film has been such a success for that reason. In fact I supported the subject of the film of My Left Foot, as the cliché has it, long before it was popular to do so.