Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 February 2018
695. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of indigenous films and foreign films, respectively, that have been made each year with the assistance of Irish Film Board funding over the past five years; and the number of these films that were profit making. [6798/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Irish Film Board (IFB) is the national development agency for Irish film making and the Irish film, television and animation industry. The Film Board supports writers, directors and production companies across these sectors by providing investment loans for the development, production and distribution of film, television and animation projects. Production funding is only available to Irish production companies with the focus on supporting Irish creative talent. Therefore all films have significant Irish production content and the Film Board does not categorise its films as "indigenous" or "foreign". Of course, given the nature of the film industry many films also include an element of co-production with other States.
Whether a film makes a financial return is dependent on a range of factors including the nature of the funding sources and terms and conditions attaching to it. The IFB provides limited recourse production loans to Irish production companies. This means that if the film achieves a certain level of commercial success the IFB participates in a share of the revenue from that success. The amount that the IFB recoups on an annual basis from those films it supported is published in its Annual Reports which are available on its website www.irishfilmboard.ie/about/ifb-annual-reports.
