Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 April 2019
10. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her views on whether the current method of providing public funding for the film industry is the most appropriate for delivering quality employment and training in the industry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16760/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn June 2018 I was pleased to launch the audiovisual action plan, an industry-wide long-term plan under the Creative Ireland programme, to support the Government's ambition to enable Ireland to become a global hub for the production of film, television drama and animation. The audiovisual high level steering group was established to implement the plan. It is a whole-of-Government approach, with representatives from all Departments and State agencies that have an involvement in the audiovisual industry. The group is overseeing implementation of the plan and will report regularly to me as Minister.
As the Deputy is aware, the plan deals in detail with the mechanisms used by the Government to support the Irish audiovisual industry. This support is delivered using parallel mechanisms of tax relief and direct funding. The section 481 film tax relief mirrors similar provisions in most other countries and attracts internationally mobile film projects to Ireland. It also encourages valuable co-productions, with international producers partnering with indigenous producers who benefit from the sharing of cutting-edge technology and expertise.
Screen Ireland is the national development agency for the Irish film, television and animation industry, supporting writers, directors and production companies by providing investment loans for the development, production and distribution of film, television and animation projects. In budget 2019, I was able to allocate an additional €2 million to Screen Ireland to build on its vital work, increasing its annual budget by 11% overall to €20 million.
Relief under section 481 may be claimed against a producer company’s corporation tax liabilities if certain conditions are satisfied. Under the film regulations 2019, a new skills development requirement is now linked to the section 481 tax credit and producer companies are obliged to submit a skills development plan. For projects over €2 million, this must be agreed in advance with Screen Ireland. It is also a requirement that a post-project skills development report be submitted. A special briefing with my Department and Revenue took place this morning at which this requirement was highlighted to industry stakeholders. I believe all of the measures outlined above will greatly enhance the delivery of quality employment and training in the industry.
The top news item today is that there is a major investigation into a loan of €100,000 by John Delaney to the Football Association of Ireland. It is currently being explored at a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport. Each year, approximately €100 million in loans and tax relief goes to the Irish film industry. Very serious issues are being raised by workers in the industry regarding wholesale blacklisting, including blacklisting of people who appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht in January of last year alleging major abuses of section 481 and the rights of employees. Evidence was given to the committee by the chair of Screen Ireland, Mr. James Hickey, that there were 17,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the Irish film industry. We questioned that claim. When the Department of Finance looked into it, it found that there are 2,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the industry, a fraction of what the Oireachtas committee was told was the case. The same film producers in receipt of this funding are refusing to attend the film stakeholder forum recommended by the all-party Oireachtas committee. This situation is not acceptable.
My Department has not received reports of any such alleged activity. I know that the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection stated that it would liaise with the Deputy on the issue. It is important to state that blacklisting is against the law and is not and should not be tolerated under any circumstances. The Deputy sometimes refers to a belief that the film industry is exceptional in some way and that normal employment law does not apply to it. However, as the Deputy is aware, that is not the case. Departmental officials are not aware of claims by employers in the audiovisual industry that there are such exemptions to employment law for that industry.
I will put it very simply for the Minister. I appreciate that the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, has agreed to meet me and film workers next week, as well as the engagement of the Department of Finance and Revenue. However, I wish to put certain points to the Minister. I challenge her to find one film worker with a contract of indefinite duration. The State gives €100 million a year to provide quality employment and training in the Irish film industry. In spite of that, she will not be able to find a single film worker with a contract of indefinite duration. There are not 17,000 full-time equivalents as was claimed by Screen Ireland. I do not have time to go into it in detail. One calculates a full-time equivalent by dividing the number of production hours by the number of employees based on a 39-hour week and employees receiving holiday pay and so on. No film worker works a 39-hour week or receives holiday pay or any such benefits. This needs to be investigated and the people who are getting this money need to be brought before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht and questioned on where are the jobs in the film industry.
As I stated, the film industry is not outside the remit of the law. It must be subject to the same rigours of the law as any other industry. My Department is not aware of any particular issues with workers in the industry. It is important to again stress that the new film regulations are in place and that the tax credit is now linked to quality employment and observance of all employment legislation, as well as enhanced skill development requirements. Screen Training Ireland, a division of Screen Ireland, held an inaugural screen industry education forum in November of last year, the aim of which was to bring together screen industry stakeholders, policy influencers and providers of training and education to focus on the skill development challenges and opportunities in the screen sector in Ireland.
They have refused to come in.
The matter is concluded. We move to Question No. 11. As Deputy Aindrias Moynihan is forgoing his 30 seconds, the Minister may provide her reply.
My replies are somewhat in disarray. Is the question on commemorations?
I thank the Acting Chairman for his forbearance.
