Producers call for Irish Film Board €20m funding to be restored

Screen Producers Ireland has called on the Government to restore the annual funding of the Irish Film Board to its pre-recession level of €20 million.

SPI, which represents 130 independent film and television production companies, warns in its pre-budget submission that opportunities to create employment in the Irish film and television sector will be lost if the board is not adequately resourced.

"It is crucial that Irish Film Board funding is restored to €20 million so that Irish producers can compete on a level playing field with their international counterparts," said SPI chief executive Barbara Galavan.

“Supporting all forms of on screen production has important economic, cultural and tourism benefits and must be prioritised.”

The board’s funding for film, animation and television drama projects has been cut by 44 per cent since 2008, and is now €11.2 million.

Funding

Irish Film Board chairwoman designate Dr

Annie Doona

called last month for funding to be restored. She said it is necessary if the Irish industry is to capitalise on recent commercial and critical successes, including this year’s Academy Award recognition for films like

Room

and

Brooklyn

, which both got funding from the board.

The Audiovisual Federation, a group affiliated to employers' body Ibec, has also asked for the Irish Film Board's funding to be increased to €20 million in its pre-budget submission.

Separately, SPI urged the Government to reinstate plans to introduce a household media charge as a replacement for the television licence fee.

Media charge

The producers’ body said the proportion of Irish households without a television has risen from 2.5 per cent in 2009 to 8 per cent now.

“The current structure of imposing a fee for public service broadcasting based on TV ownership is outdated and must be changed to reflect the impact of new technology on consumption patterns,” it said.

"Our public service broadcasters, RTÉ and TG4, need security of funding to meet their obligations under the Broadcasting Act and should not be reliant on advertising and commercial revenues," Ms Galavan said.

SPI’s call on the Government “to reconsider” its abandonment of the household media charge follows a move by the British government on Monday to compel users of the BBC’s on-demand iPlayer to buy a television licence fee from September, even if they do not own a traditional television.

SPI also asked for Budget 2017 to include an extension of the Section 481 tax credit for film and television production.

It is not due to expire until 2020, but the long lead times required for film production, as well as the normal practice for US television producers to plan for dramas to run for multiple seasons, means the tax incentive has to be guaranteed years in advance in order for it to be effective.

Torlach Denihan, director of the Audiovisual Federation, warns that the "lack of clarity" about the future of the tax credit may lead to a loss of business.