Vol. 535 No. 5
186 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the amount of section 35 funds certified for three companies (details supplied), if these figures are available to the general public or through the Freedom of Information Act, 1997, the accountability involved and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13144/01]
Certification for the purposes of section 481 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, allows tax relief on investments in film projects certified under the Act. Payment of public funds does not arise in this context.
It is not appropriate to release details of the amounts certified for the individual film projects specified by the Deputy, as these constitute commercially sensitive information. This would also preclude their release under the Freedom of Information Act, 1997. Records relating to the projects specified by the Deputy predate the Freedom of Information Act and, as such, the Act is not applicable to them.
The compliance of these projects with the conditions attached to their certification has been verified in line with my Department's standard procedures.
