Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland

#Industry: Screen Ireland welcomes new S481 skills development requirement

The Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht has issued new guidelines on Section 481, the Irish tax incentive for the film, television and animation industry. One of the key elements of the incentive is that producers are required to develop the skills of those working on the relevant production benefiting from the incentive. Producers will now need to set out the estimated number of employees on set likely to be upskilled in the course of the film and submit a Proposed Skills Development Plan to Screen Ireland, which must be agreed in advance with the agency.

We welcome the new skills development requirement linked to the Section 481 tax credit, as we believe it will provide a strong structured basis for the sector to grow and develop in the coming years, focusing on the skills of the individuals working within the industry. The new skills development requirement is wide-ranging and inclusive, covering skills development across all levels of production, focusing on quality over quantity in terms of the outcomes it delivers.

We look forward to working with the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht who will now be administering the incentive with the Revenue. We also look forward to the expected publication of guidelines on eligible expenditure and PAYE/Schedule D employees from the Revenue, which will help ensure the incentive works more efficiently.

An efficient tax incentive plays a central role in developing Ireland as a global media production hub through attracting large-scale international productions and developing a flourishing indigenous sector. Currently, there are 12,000 full-time equivalent jobs in film, television and animation production in Ireland and the plan is to double that figure to 24,000 over the next five years. With the newly introduced regional uplift of 5%* we hope that counties across the breath of Ireland will benefit from increased employment opportunities from film, television and animation production.
James Hickey, Chief Executive – Screen Ireland

The screen industries have a Gross Value Added of €692 million to the Irish economy.

*The 5% Regional Uplift is subject to EU approval