Information on the content of films, including details of scenes of violence, sex and bad language, is to be make available to parents through a new Internet website from the Irish Film Censor's Office.
The website, www.ifco.ie, went live yesterday evening, explaining for the first time the reasons behind official classifications for new film, video and DVD releases.
The Irish film censor, Mr John Kelleher, said the initiative was aimed at making his office - which issues age-related certificates for all movies in the Republic - more user-friendly.
"We have always published decisions, but I am strongly of the view that we have to go further and publish the reasons behind those decisions," he said.
"We should explain, for example, if there is moderate or strong language in a film, or drug- taking, or scenes of violence.
"The aim of the website is to give consumer advice so parents can make an informed decision."
The website is said to be "release-driven" and will be updated each Friday to coincide with changes in movie schedules. It will also feature links to film reviews in various media outlets.
Since taking up the post in April 2003, Mr Kelleher - who previously worked in television, film production and publishing - has taken steps to open up his office by occasionally explaining certification decisions through statements to the media.
Earlier this year, he took the unusual step of publicly rejecting claims that the controversial Mel Gibson movie, The Passion of the Christ, was anti-Semitic, describing the film "as a serious cinematic dramatisation of an event that goes to the core of belief of many people in Ireland". His comments were subsequently re-used by the movie's distributors for publicity purposes.
Mr Kelleher said: "We won't be making value judgments [on the website], saying this film is good or bad, and we certainly won't be giving the plot away. Rather, we plan to make a small comment with each film, as well as rank different forms of content from mild to strong."
He added: "The previous ethos was not to explain decisions. But that was from another era. We have moved from the age of censorship to one of classification."
The censor's office, which operates independently under the auspices of the Department of Justice, has launched the website to coincide with the publication today of the results of a major survey of parents' attitudes to their children's viewing of films, videos and DVDs.
Under the Censorship of Films Acts 1923-1992 and the Video Recordings Acts 1989, all films or videos shown to the public must be certified by the censor. A film without such certification is deemed "unfit for exhibition".
