Liz O'Donnell
Question:23 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the steps, if any, taken by him to date to boost employment in the Irish film industry. [8852/97]
Written Answers - Film Industry.
Máirín Quill
Question:30 Miss Quill asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the steps, if any, taken by him to date to boost employment in the Irish film industry. [8848/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 30 together.
In the early 1990s the Irish film industry was at an historically low ebb, with only two to three feature film productions being produced here each year. Nonetheless, the success of productions such as "My Left Foot" indicated the potential which existed for an Irish film industry and for the creation of substantial employment in such an industry.
Since 1993, the Government has introduced a package of measures designed to develop the industry and to provide the necessary capital investment for film production. The measures include: the re-establishment of Bord Scannán na hÉireann-the Irish Film Board and its funding under the EU Operational Programme for Industrial Development 1994-1999 to provide development and production loans to film producers; the enhancement of the section 35 tax relief scheme to favour a substantially increased level of private investment in film production; the statutory provision for RTE to allocate a specified and increasing proportion of its resources to programming commissioned from the independent production sector, reaching a plateau in 1999 of the greater of £12.5 million or 20 per cent of television programmes; the establishment of Teilifís na Gaeilge which is an important new source of commissioning from the independent production sector; the establishment of STATCOM, a grouping of the relevant Government Departments and State agencies involved in different aspects of the promotion of the film and independent television production sector, whose remit is to remove all remaining obstacles to the full development of the sector over time; the establishment, on foot of a major report commissioned by STATCOM, of a national training committee for film and television production, to implement the strategies of the report; participation by Ireland in European funding and support strategies such as the EU MEDIA II Programme and EURIMAGES, the Council of Europe's Film Co-Production Fund.
Notwithstanding these considerable policy interventions in support of the industry, I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Government is constantly reviewing its policies in this area and has only recently announced significantly new improvements to the section 35 investment incentive scheme. The Finance Bill, 1997, provides for the following improvements: an increase in the ceiling levels of investment for higher budget film productions from £7.5 million to £15 million; a 10 per cent top-up for post-production in Ireland; and a greater participation by corporate investors in the scheme.
All the foregoing measures are designed to increase employment in the industry, while also acknowledging the strong cultural significance of film and television production. To illustrate the employment impact of the measures I have cited, I should inform the Deputy that employment figures produced by IBEC in its annual reports on the economic impact of film production in Ireland from 1993 to 1995, the latest year for which figures have been compiled, show a dramatic increase in employment levels in the industry.
Whereas in 1993 there were 3,772 placements in feature film and animation production, comprising 480 full-time equivalents of employment, in 1995, the number of placements had risen to 14,329, comprising 1,088 full-time equivalents of employment.
Membership of the cinema and broadcasting branch of SIPTU also gives a good indication of the increasing level of activity in the industry. In December 1991, I understand that the branch had 496 members; that at the end of 1994, this number had increased to 815 and that, at present, membership totals 1,449.