The Department of Culture launched the National Cultural Institutions Investment Programme today, detailing investment of €460 million, including €200m investment in media production and the audio visual industry.
Investment in Media Production and Audio Visual Industry (€200m)
Under Pillar 4 of the Creative Ireland Programme, the Government is committed to developing Ireland as a centre of excellence in media production through supporting the development of the Irish film, television and animation sectors. It will do this by continuing to provide tax incentives for film production in Ireland and by providing capital funding to the Irish Film Board, which in turn will support and promote Irish film, television and animation. One of the challenges will be to increase funding to the sector through the Irish Film Board. This will, in turn, allow it to fulfil its remit and help position the sector as a strategically important contributor to the cultural and economic life of the country.
The audio visual sector
We are experiencing an international revolution in the audio visual sector, driven largely by new internet platforms such as Netflix and Amazon, and the continued success of the traditional TV and film industry. There are major opportunities for growth in the sector. Ireland is an attractive territory for internationally mobile audio visual investment combining as it does fantastic locations, an English-speaking population, a skilled workforce and a competitive fiscal incentive. Additional capital funding in the sector will exploit this potential and will focus primarily on film production, High End TV drama and animation under the following headings:
• Co-production funding to support the development and production of more projects such as Room and Brooklyn which were Irish and international coproductions;
• Development funding to increase the value of Irish productions in the marketplace by ensuring they are fully developed before entering production;
• Funding to encourage the production of new Irish TV drama content. In recent years, there has been very little Irish domestic TV Drama and new funding will allow Ireland to take its place in this growing international market as well as reflecting our own cultural experience;
• A Regional Production Fund aimed at assisting with the cost of filming outside of the Dublin and Wicklow regions The recently announced production of George RR Martin’s Nightflyers in Limerick was made possible by an Irish Film Board and will unlock the potential of other regions to support high-end productions;
• Additional Training of film workers and crew particularly in the regions.
The full details on the breakdown of the investment programme is provided in the sectoral plan –Investing in our Culture, Language and Heritage – which is available here