Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland has announced details of the new €5 million Production Continuation* Fund, now available for film and TV projects to assist production companies with the uncertainties caused by COVID-19. The fund was originally announced in the July stimulus package by the Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht, Catherine Martin T.D. as part of a range of arts and culture supports for the sector.
The Production Continuation Fund will help cover costs incurred where production must be halted as a result of an incident related to COVID-19, in circumstances not covered by other insurances. The total fund will come to €5 million and the maximum amount available to any one production shall be up to €500,000.
Live action film and television production was permitted to resume on the 29th of June this year, in accordance with the Government’s Roadmap to Reopening Society. The Production Continuation Fund is one of a range of supports implemented by Screen Ireland to support producers as they return to large-scale production in challenging circumstances. COVID-19 Production Guidelines, produced by Screen Producers Ireland with funding support from Screen Ireland, have been used to develop individual protocols and production-specific risk assessments on set. A €1 million COVID-19 Production Fund was established by Screen Ireland in June to partially offset additional production costs associated with implementing the new guidelines. For further support, Screen Skills Ireland, the skills development unit within Screen Ireland, are currently providing free online training courses on implementing the guidelines.
The priority for the Production Continuation Fund in de-risking costs is to enable independent Irish production activity to return as safely as possible, and to help retain Ireland’s talent creative workforce as the industry recovers and adapts to the impact of COVID-19.
*The Production Continuation Fund was previously announced by the Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht, Catherine Martin T.D., as part of a pilot Performance and Production Support Package.
Guidelines for the Production Continuation Fund and how to apply are available here.