Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 May 2023
21. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if her attention been drawn to the recommendations of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight Report on the Section 481 Film Tax Credit; if she intends to implement the recommendations and discuss them with the Minister for Finance; and her views on each of the 14 recommendations. [23711/23]
View answer25. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if she will agree to an all inclusive film industry stakeholders forum, as recommended by the recently published budgetary oversight committee report on the section 481 film tax credit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23580/23]
View answerI propose to answer Questions Nos. 21 and 25 together.
I welcome the work done by the Budgetary Oversight Committee over the past 12 months and I would like to congratulate the members on their Report.
The Section 481 tax credit system is a vital part of the financial infrastructure of the audio-visual industry in Ireland. The objectives of the film tax credit are to act as a stimulus to the Irish audiovisual industry in the State, creating quality employment opportunities, upskilling workers across the industry, supporting the production of new audiovisual programming across areas of Irish culture and language, including Irish storytelling, giving full breadth to our heritage, experience, diversity and history, both fictional and factual and providing opportunities to export Irish culture on screen.
The Committee’s Report is substantive and my officials and I will take time to reflect on the Report and consider the 14 recommendations from the Committee in detail.
The recommendations include a range of issues that are policy matters for my Cabinet colleagues. The Minister for Finance has responsibility for the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (as amended) the legislation governing Section 481. In particular, the Committee recommended the removing or raising the cap on Section 481 and retaining the regional uplift and I will be engaging with Minister McGrath on these matters in advance of the Budget. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has responsibility for Copyright matters, the EU Copyright Directive and the Workplace Relations Commission issues.
Recommendation number 14 is that the Committee recommends that both my Department and the Department of Finance convene a stakeholder forum to discuss how to maximise the benefits of the Section 481 credit for all concerned stakeholders and to facilitate best practice in employment rights, industrial relations, collective bargaining, address Copyright and Intellectual Property issues and any other relevant issues.
On that specific recommendation, my officials will be speaking with the Department of Finance about what format a forum might take. In the audiovisual industry, stakeholder consultation by my Department and Screen Ireland is well established and consultations on matters such as sustainability and equality, diversity and integration have been ongoing. In general, the outcome of consultation with stakeholders benefit the industry as a whole and future growth within the sector needs to be delivered in a sustainable and responsible way with safe and respectful workplaces at its core.
