Vol. 463 No. 2
16 Mr. D. Wallace asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the total financial support provided by his Department to the indigenous film-making sector in 1995; and the equivalent information for foreign-owned ventures. [5870/96]
Bórd Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board, which operates under the aegis of my Department supports the indigenous film-making sector through the provision of development and production loans. In 1995, the board received £2,850,000 by way of a capital grant-in-aid from my Department, all of which was committed to indigenous projects by year end.
In addition, as the Deputy will be aware, I assumed responsibility for the certification of film projects under section 35 of the Finance Act, 1987, as amended, in May 1994. While the section 35 tax relief scheme does not constitute financial assistance provided directly by my Department, since its cost is in terms of revenue foregone by the Exchequer, this scheme is a major source of State support for the film industry. In 1995, 49 film and television projects were certified by me, of which 31 are classified as indigenous. The total amount of section 35 investments to be raised for these 31 projects was some £39 million. This compares with 18 non-indigenous film and television projects certified in the same period which involved a total of some £34 million in section 35 finance. In every case, an Irish registered and resident production company was established for the purposes of section 35, as required by the legislation.
The estimated cost to the Exchequer in terms of revenue foregone if all the projects certified in 1995 proceed to production will be, in the case of indigenous projects, some £17 million and in the case of non-indigenous projects, some £15 million.
