Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 October 2020
58. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht if she has engaged with the Minister for Finance ahead of budget 2021 on the ongoing need to ensure that the tax regime here remains supportive of and attractive to film and television production. [27377/20]
View answerWhile Budget 2021 is a matter for the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, I as Minister, take every opportunity at Government and with my Ministerial colleagues to highlight the importance and value of the culture and audiovisual sectors and the benefits of increasing public investment in them. Government policy supports the film and television sector in a number of ways to create an attractive environment for film production: through funding for Screen Ireland, international film co-production treaties, an annual international programme of Irish film festivals, and the engagement of high-profile talent to project a positive image of Ireland and reflect Ireland as a creative place.
The section 481 tax credit system is also a vital part of the financial infrastructure of the audiovisual industry in Ireland. Its importance is highlighted in the Government’s Audiovisual Action Plan under Pillar 4 of the Creative Ireland programme which is designed to deliver on ambitions to make Ireland a leader in the audiovisual sector and contains a number of recommendations in respect of our tax regime. Significant work has taken place in this area in the past year. In July 2019, the EU Commission gave State Aid approval in respect of two aspects of Irelands tax credit: the extension of the Section 481 credit until 2024 which provides certainty for film production companies on the future availability of the credit, ensuring the continued growth of our film industry; and the introduction of the Regional Film Development Uplift which offers an additional tapered tax credit over a period of 4 years and supports the development of a vibrant creative audio-visual sector across the country. The Department of Finance is represented on the Audiovisual Action Plan Steering Group, which will continue to keep section 481 under review over the lifetime of the Audiovisual Action Plan.
