Monday, 22 April 2013

The main funding and support mechanism for the Irish film production sector


The Irish film industry is make up through the Irish film board establish back in 1980 with muiris mac conghail as chairman. The Irish film board started with a number of aims including promoting the creative and culture for a home and international market and audience. To support films project through development funding and finance investment. Also to encourage training of the technical and production staff. As well as assisting marketing the films abroad and to serve some priority to Irish as well as international productions. In the beginning the film board saw fruitful results. With over twenty five short films and documentaries. And causes more then twelve features length films to reach cinema and television screens in Ireland and around the world. Also raised employment and level of Skill required for production. While cause the value of the production activity in Ireland to grow from fourteen million in the period of 1982 to 1992. In 1986 the main responsibility of film was moved from the department of industry and commerce to the department of the Taoiseach.


But the board was disbanded in 1987 cause although feedback showed that the growth of the Irish film industry was going well there was trouble targeting foreign production to Ireland. So it was replaced with a tax incentive under section 35 of the finance act in 1987. It would later become known as section 481 of the taxes consolidation act of 1997. The main goal of the scheme was to promote investment in Irish films by giving taxpayers a tax relief for investing in Irish film. As investor could invest about around 65% of production costs for any film with a budgets of four million pounds and 55% for any production with a budget over five million pounds with a cap being placed at fifteen million pounds. In 2006 the finance act made changes to these and investor could now invest 80% of production cost on a film with the cap coming in at about 35 million euros. But only people making six figures incomes could really take part in the tax relief and only Films with the means to international funding could actually get real use out of the scheme. This also meant that some low and medium project had some problems getting funding for production. Although there was some big successes, with films like my left foot. And with the scheme in place it made up 28% of the Irish budget and does not require bank discounting.

 In 2008 the Irish government got in new measures to improve the tax scheme. With the amount getting invested could be invested depended on the total spend by the production on Irish goods and services. This also saw the cap on how much that could be invested rise from 35milion euros to 50milion euros by an update in the finance act again in 2009.The scheme was also updated to include that now anyone buying shares in a special purpose film or television production company could invest fifthly thousand under the scheme. The main change to the scheme was that when the first came about the investor could get an 80% tax relief now that had gone up to 100% encouraging more to invest in the scheme. Resulting in a large increase in the producers net benefits from each project available under section 481. As they could now get benefit up to 30% for there use of lrish goods, services and location. It was the beginning of the governments giving more backing support for the sector. Lending up to 1993 when the government agreed to start up the Irish film board again, providing the capital fund and appointing a new board of members. Now running within the at that time newly formed department of arts culture and the Gaeltacht. Because they when no longer part of the department of the Taoiseach. The new Irish film board act of 1993 with Micheal D Higgins as chairman saw an increase of fund becoming availably from its earlier limit of 4.1 million to 15 million. From 1993 onward the film board starting to see some success with Irish films internationally. Following from 1993 to 2003 the production activity in Ireland grew from the annual average of just 14 million Euro to 151 million Euro by the end of 2003.

  

Biography
Mapping Irish media roddy Flynn 2007
Iftn.ie/legal/section 481
Pobail.ie/department of arts culture and the Gaeltacht/ Irish film board
Irishfilmboard.ie
Estudiosirlandese.org/ roddy Flynn

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