Industry: Irish Film Board welcomes increase of Section 481 cap to €70 million

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan’s announcement in his Budget 2016 speech about the latest improvement to Section 481 film tax credit has been welcomed by Bord Scannán na hÉireann/ the Irish Film Board. The improvement underlines the continuing support of the Irish government for Irish feature film, television drama and the television animation industry in Ireland and will assist in attracting foreign direct investment in screen content production, generating growth, jobs and exports in the sector.

[quote title=”Michael Noonan – Minister for Finance”]Ireland has a significant opportunity as a location for the production of films and television programmes. Having reviewed the film tax credit, I’m increasing the cap on eligible expenditure to €70 million. This limit will be kept under review going forward. It is my hope that the industry will now make the necessary investments in studio spaces in order to attract high quality films and create new jobs. This change is subject to state aid approval.[/quote]

Irish feature film, TV drama and TV animation continues to grow in strength and quality. Recent feature film productions supported by the Irish Film Board include The Lobster with Colin Farrell; Brooklyn with Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson; and the recent winner of the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival Room, directed by Lenny Abrahamson  – all of which are due for cinema release in Ireland over the next four months.

Also in the pipeline are John Carney’s Sing Street and Jim Sheridan’s The Secret Scripture with Rooney Mara and Jack Reynor. In TV drama, the third season of Penny Dreadful is well underway in Ardmore Studios and Vikings is also continuing production in Ashford Studios. In animation, Brown Bag Films, which has received IFB funding support over the years was recently acquired by Canadian animation studio, 9 Story Media Group and plans to create 50 new jobs, while Nelly and Nora, funded by the Irish Film Board has this year screened on both RTÉjr and BBC, and is being distributed throughout the world by BBC Worldwide.