Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 February 2022
334. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the actions that are being taken to address the high levels of unemployment, low levels of job security and low levels of pay within the film and television industry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8156/22]
View answerFigures for the levels of production of animation, film and TV will shortly be announced by Screen Ireland, the national development agency for the Irish film, television and animation industry, and it is anticipated that this will show that 2021 was a record year for production in Ireland. Production continued throughout 2021 despite the very great challenges of COVID-19. Levels of employment across the industry have been particularly high.
The Government has a range of measures to encourage activity in the audiovisual industry including the Section 481 tax relief and direct grant to projects from Screen Ireland and the Sound and Vision fund.
The Government's Audiovisual Action Plan aims to provide the necessary environment for Ireland to become a global hub for the production of Film, TV drama and animation. The Plan recognises Section 481 as a vital part of the financial infrastructure of the audio-visual industry in Ireland and underlines the need to ensure that it remains fit for purpose and achieves its objectives. My Department is in ongoing collaboration with the Department of Finance to ensure that the tax relief is kept up to date and in line with international incentives.
Screen Ireland's mission is to support and promote Irish film, television and animation through fostering Irish artistic vision and our diverse creative and production talent, growing audiences, and attracting filmmakers and investment into the country. The funding allocation for screen Ireland will increase in 2022 by €6.65m compared to 2021. The total allocation for 2022 will be €36.743 million - an increase of 22.1%. Screen Ireland’s 3-year strategic Plan ‘Building for a Creative Future 2024’ sets out how it plans to support this important sector including championing development that is national and sustainable, supporting Irish companies and an expanded workforce. Screen Ireland also wants to ensure large-scale mobile productions are enabled to complete their full project in Ireland, including valuable animation, post-production and Visual Effects (VFX) work.
In addition, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) continues to develop and implement the broadcasting funding schemes that support an increase in the production and availability of diverse, innovative and culturally relevant Irish audio-visual content. In 2020, €15,769m was allocated by BAI to Sound and Vision projects. In 2021, the equivalent figure was approximately €16m.
In December 2020, the trade union SIPTU and Screen Producers Ireland (SPI) announced a new Shooting Crew agreement. The agreement covers pay rates for live-action films and TV production as well as working conditions. The new agreement, came into effect on 1 January 2021 and is reported to be working well and being observed by all parties.
My Department is engaging with the Central Statistics Office to deepen the statistical information collected on employment and activity in the Arts & Culture sectors and this has the potential to add to research and statistical analysis about the levels of employment and unemployment in the audiovisual sector and the various occupational categories within the industry.
