Country Focus: Ireland
by Cineuropa
Articles, interviews, news, analysis on the Irish audiovisual sector.
Country profile: Ireland
Minister talks up potential of Irish animation sector
In 2014, 15 animation projects approved for funding under Section 481, with a total Irish spend of €39 million
Ireland sees flurry of film activity in the New Year
Irish Minister talks up tax breaks
New breaks that came into effect January 1 will help attract international productions
Creative England, Danish Film Institute and Irish Film Institute launch TalentX
International forum for industry professionals to be held in Amsterdam
Irish Film Board explains new tax credit
Irish Film Board to undertake new strategic plan
Five-year plan will chart the future direction of key industry body
Irish government reaffirms tax credit support
Minister considering increase to €50 million cap on eligible expenditure
Irish President to get IFTA honour
Michael Daniel Higgins will receive an Honorary Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Irish film and television industry
EFM: The hunger for Irish films
The Berlinale competition entry ’71 has found a German distributor
Irish Film Board keeps going despite funding cuts
The 2014 budget for the national agency for the Irish audio-visual production sector suffers 5.7% cuts
Ireland increases tax breaks to 32%
From 2015, Section 481 will apply to non-EU as well as EU talent working in Ireland
Irish filmmakers set for Korean junket
Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan and Lance Daly amongst those travelling to Busan for Irish focus at festival
Lightning Strike for beActive
Transmedia company to distribute and develop shorts based on anthology graphic novels
IFB announces new board members
UPC in its Element with VOD, Volta locks Eye
Mea Maxima Culpa to release on demand simultaneously with theatrical
Fastnet Films plays Wildcard
New distributor to release Life’s A Breeze, The Swell Season and Cyclone
Ireland extends film tax relief to 2020
International Film Guide 2011: Ireland
A survey of the film culture and output in Ireland published by the International Film Guide.
Ireland - Fact and Figures 2008
Ireland - International Film Guide Survey 2010
A survey of the film culture and output in Ireland published by the International Film Guide.
2009 best in seven years
The recession seems to have sent British and Irish punters flocking to the cinemas as 2009 figures released by the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association (CEA) reveal. The year was the best for UK cinemas since 2002, with 173,461,335 admissions, a 5.6% increase on 2008. Box office receipts for UK and Ireland crossed £1bn for the first time ever at £1,054,351,651 (the UK-only figure being £943,750,158) after a year when the attractions of 3D cinema increasingly made their presence felt. By the end of...
IFB responds to threatened closure
The Irish Film Board (IFB) has responded to the An Bord Snip Nua’s recommendation that the country’s apex film body be abolished. The response cites a recent Price Waterhouse Cooper report that valued Ireland’s audiovisual content industry at over half a billion euro per annum and argues that the loss of 6,000 people directly in the sector and many more in ancillary industries will cost the country in excess of the perceived savings. The response goes on to state: “To be taken into...
Bord snips Irish Film Board
The Irish film industry was thrown into turmoil with the publication of the Department of Finance’s An Bord Snip Nua Group’s recommendations of drastic cuts in the film sector. In effect, the Irish Film Board (IFB) could cease to exist, with its functions transferred to a new enterprise agency. The report stated, “The Group considers that continued funding of the Irish Film Board is not affordable at this time in the context of other more pressing spending priorities. Given the scale of tax...
A rough guide to Section 481
What is Section 481? Section 481 is a tax incentive for film and television made in Ireland. What type of projects qualify? The incentive applies to Feature Films, Creative Documentaries, Television Drama and Animation. The incentive does not apply to Commercils, Reality TV, Game Shows and Soaps. How much is the Section 481 benefit worth? Projects can derive a benefit of up to 28% of their qualifying expenditure. What constitutes qualifying expenditure? The benefit is based on the cost of EU...
Screen Directors Guild of Ireland
The Guild is a representative body supporting over 160 Screen Directors working across the genres of film, television, animation, video art and commercials. The Guild is at the forefront of campaigning for the economic rights of Directors and raises their status as creators of their work. Irish Screen Directors contribute a huge amount to Society and popular culture within Ireland and beyond resulting in the increased export potential of work through the creation of successful industry...
Section 481 amended
After a long period of deliberation, it’s now official. Irish Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has signed a Commencement Order approving changes in Section 481 that governs film taxation. Under the amendments, the per project cap has been raised to €50m from €35m; the individual investor cap for investors in Irish film goes up to €50,000 per annum from the current €31,750, upon which there will be a 100% relief, compared to the current 80%. The changes were tabled in the Finance Act 2008...
Ireland - International Film Guide Survey
On the eve of the Oscars, John Carney's micro-budget Dublin musical, Once, saw off formidable competition when it was voted Best Foreign Film at the US Independent Spirit Awards. Once won again on Oscar night, with leading actors Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglova winning Best Original Song for their composition "Falling Slowly". More good news came when Irish citizen and resident Daniel Day-Lewis collected his second Best Actor Oscar for There Will Be Blood. Read the survey published by the...
Significant improvements in Section 481
Acting on an Irish Film Board (IFB) recommendation, Minister for Arts Martin Cullen has proposed amendments to Section 481, to increase investment in the Irish film industry. The individual investor cap will rise to €50,000 per annum (up from the current limit of €31,750) and there will be a 100% relief on that amount from the previous 80%. Cullen said, “This improvement follows on from confirmation earlier this year to increase the cap per project to €50 million and to also extend the...
IFB report recommends higher tax incentive
A new report published by the Irish Film Board (IFB) has recommended a major change to the current tax incentive for film – Section 481 – that runs till 2012. The report proposes that the tax incentive be increased, which can be done by increasing the investor write-off from 80 to 100%. The report, titled Restoring Viability and Balance to the Irish Film Production Industry, was prepared by the IFB in response to a request from Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen. If...
