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FUNDING Ireland

Parliament approves Screen Ireland’s capital increase from €300 to €500 million

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- The amendment, aimed at bolstering the national film industry, has passed all the legislative stages in the Senate and Assembly today

Parliament approves Screen Ireland’s capital increase from €300 to €500 million
Ireland's Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan

Today on 19 December, the 2018 Irish Film Board received official approval on their key amendment by both chambers of the national parliament. Initiated in the Assembly on 6 November, the passage of this provision received strong support from Josepha Madigan, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Madigan is also a politician for Fine Gael, Ireland’s governing party.

Speaking about the bill, Madigan recently explained: "This is a short technical bill which has the important objective of increasing the statutory limit on the cumulative capital outlay, commitments and liabilities that can be advanced to Screen Ireland, formerly known as the Irish Film Board, from €300 million to €500 million. As in the case of some statutory bodies which receive public funding, a limit was set by statute on such outlays when the Irish Film Board Act 1980 was passed. The limit must be reviewed by the Houses of the Oireachtas every five to six years.”

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The previous 2011 Irish Film Board Act established a €300 million limit. The new 2018 amendment increases this limit by 66.6% and allows Screen Ireland to continue to operate within an appropriate statutory limit. The film agency’s 2019 budget will also include the extension of Section 481 to 2024, namely, the Irish tax incentive for film, television and animation productions as well as a time-limited regional uplift of 5%, which was introduced for film tax relief.

The bill gained wide approval in Parliament with many deputies acknowledging the high levels of productivity in the Irish film industry and the strategic importance of the film sector within national cultural industries. In relation to this, Madigan added: "Evidence of the necessity for this legislation is borne out by the activity of Screen Ireland in recent times. In the past seven years, Screen Ireland has assisted the development of a total of 140 feature film projects, 120 documentaries and 30 animation projects. It has also supported over 140 projects for distribution and has seen the development of some 700 projects in the period. Screen Ireland aims to support and promote Irish film, television and animation through fostering Irish artistic vision and our diverse creative and production talent, growing audiences, and attracting film makers and investment into the country. Recent years were significant in terms of Irish creative talent and the Irish screen industries, not only for the commercial and critical plaudits of Irish film both at home and abroad, but also their breakthrough onto the international stage.”

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