The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan T.D. has launched her Department’s €200m Audio-visual Action Plan. The industry-wide, long-term plan, under the Creative Ireland Programme, will support the Government’s ambition to enable Ireland to become a global hub for the production of Film, TV drama and animation.
The key points in the Plan include:
- Consider extending Section 481 tax relief, as well as increasing the expenditure ceiling, revising the regulations and extending the relief to Ireland’s games sector.
- A review by Screen Ireland of funding models for other countries’ film agencies.
- Increased capital funding for the film sector including co-production and development funding, a specific fund for the development of films and TV drama, a fund for new Irish TV drama, a regional production fund and additional training of film workers and crew.
- Increased business skills development, matching of skills with production growth and partnering with third level institutions in skills development.
- Increased marketing measures including measures to attract major computer games studios to Ireland.
- A steering group will prioritise measures, oversee implementation and monitor risks, reporting regularly to Minister Madigan.
The Audiovisual Action Plan is underpinned by an Economic Assessment of the Audio-Visual Industry in Ireland carried out by international consultants Olsberg SPI with Nordicity on behalf of the Departments of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Communications, Climate Action and Environment and Business, Enterprise and Innovation. As well as measuring the size and impact of the industry, the consultants identified a range of key strategic recommendations which would assist the future development and growth of the audiovisual sector in Ireland.
The consultants concluded that with the implementation of their policy recommendations, Ireland’s “film, television and animation” sector could in a period of five years, double employment to over 24,000 full-time equivalents and a gross value added of nearly €1.4 billion.
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland (FÉ/SI) welcomed the publication by the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan T.D. of a €200m Audiovisual Action Plan. The industry-wide, long-term plan, under the Creative Ireland Programme, will support the Government’s ambition to enable Ireland to become a global hub for the production of Film, TV drama and animation.
"First let me start by thanking the Minister for the launch today of the Audiovisual Action Plan. The IFB is now known as Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland — a new name which not only reflects the broadening remit of the agency within Ireland’s audiovisual sector, but also encapsulates the ambitious vision which the Government has for the future of the sector, which is now set out in the Audiovisual Action Plan today.
The IFB worked closely with both the consultants who prepared the Report and the Steering Group which oversaw the commissioning and completion of the Report. This Report will provide an invaluable framework for the growth of our industry over the next five years. . I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jonathan Olsberg, Andrew Barnes and his colleagues for all their work on the Report. I would also like to thank our colleagues on the Steering Group from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Department of Communications, the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
Storytelling on screen is an essential part of Ireland’s cultural heritage and landscape; intrinsically woven into the fabric of Irish life, but the 21st century medium with the greatest impact on people’s daily lives is what they see on their screens, large and small. The talent and the creative and technical skills to create that work will need to be nurtured and supported. What we have today is an Audiovisual Action Plan which puts to the forefront this nurturing and support by the government which is so vital to achieving a strong and vibrant audiovisual creative economy.
We look forward to working with Government, as well as Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, RTÉ, TG4, the BAI, the Arts Council, Culture Ireland, Tourism Ireland, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and the City and County Councils to achieve this ambitious vision for the future of Ireland’s storytelling on screen."
James Hickey, Chief Executive – Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland
Both the Audiovisual Action Plan and the Olsberg Report are available to download from the department website.
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