Screen Producers Ireland welcomes government investment into the Irish AV sector

Screen Producers Ireland welcomes government investment into the Irish AV sector

DUBLIN, Wednesday, 28 September 2022: Screen Producers Ireland (SPI) welcomes continuous investment into the Irish AV sector included in today’s Budget announcement made by Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin. As the representative body for independent producers in Ireland, SPI advocates for sustainable financial measures to improve the sector for its members, their work, and the employment they provide.
 
Susan Kirby, CEO at Screen Producers Ireland welcomed the announcement, “We’re pleased today that a number of our policy recommendations have been acted upon, and we regard Budget 2023 as an endorsement and investment in the potential of the AV sector in Ireland. We wish to thank Minister Catherine Martin and Minister Paschal Donohoe for their continued commitment to the AV sector as an important provider of work, creativity, and culturally significant content, through clear financial investment.”
 
Budget impact on Irish AV Sector:
 
TG4

• TG4 has been allocated an additional €7.3M in funding. This will enable the channel to implement its post-COVID vision of Irish language broadcasting, which SPI supports.

• Also announced by the Minister is the provision for TG4 to begin broadcasting its new TV channel, Cúla 4, which provides Irish language programming for children.

 
RTÉ

• RTÉ has been allocated €15 million in support, and while this is below the amount recommended in the Future of Media Commission’s recommendation, is an important interim investment.

 
Section 481

• Section 481 is one of the most crucial incentive schemes for independent producers in Ireland, which provides much-needed tax relief for eligible productions.

• The Section 481 tax incentive has been extended to the end of 2028, an announcement that provided much-needed clarity for independent producers seeking to undertake long-term production planning.

• There has been no extension of the regional uplift, which helped to bring productions out of Dublin and Wicklow. A lack of extension here may have a negative impact on employment in certain regions.

 
Coimisiún na Meán

• Coimisiún na Meán has been allocated €7.5 million in exchequer funding, which will support the establishment of the new media regulator.

 
Screen Ireland

• Screen Ireland have been allocated an addition €1 million in funding.

• Screen Ireland also announced the ring-fencing of €3.5 million for regional activities.

 
Anthony Muldoon, Insights, Policy, and Communications Manager at Screen Producer Ireland said, “We’re analysing the detail of the announcement and delighted to see investment in Screen Ireland and our broadcasters, as well as an extension to the important tax incentive Section 481. We also note that Screen Ireland have ring-fenced a fund of €3.5 million to support regional activity, and we will be engaging with the agency on the investment of that fund.
 
The Future of Media Commission recommendations make it clear that RTÉ needs interim funding to have financial sustainability. It’s a sign of intention by the Government today that its granted RTÉ interim funding of €15M, which was recommended in The Future of Media Commission report,  and we hope that this will give RTÉ the ability to invest more in independent productions and continue to serve Irish audiences. Critical now is the announcement of the recommendations from the interdepartmental working group on TV Licence Fee reform and a sustainable funding model for the broadcaster.
The significant additional investment in TG4 over the last 3 years is a true testament to potential of the sector. The recent critical successes of Arracht, Foscadh, An Caillín Ciúin, and Róise and Frank, is a sign of the potential for Irish language in Ireland and internationally, which makes this an exciting space to watch.
 
The additional exchequer funding of €7.5m to the soon to be created Coimisiún na Meán in 2023 will support the establishment of the new media regulator. SPI has consistently called for Coimisiún na Meán, once established, to begin the work to introduce the content levy to secure additional investment into the AV Sector.
 
The Minister for Finance announced in his Budget 2023 speech that his department will explore the opportunities for Ireland in the ‘unscripted production sector’. SPI represents some of the biggest Irish producers of unscripted formats and we welcome this opportunity to engage in Government and find ways to explore the potential that internationalisation of the genre can bring to the Irish AV sector. We look forward to hearing from the Department the Terms of the Reference for this exploration and the ways in which SPI, and our members, can contribute in order to ensure that we take advantage of the opportunities that are available for this dynamic genre of content.”