15/04/2003

During an industry seminar on 12 April that celebrated the Irish Film Board’s 10th anniversary, James Hickey (a prominent entertainment lawyer who worked on films like My Left Foot, Nora, The Good Thief) warned the industry that the abolishment of tax incentives for the film industry could result in the demise of the Irish Film Board (IFB) and the relocation of film activities to the UK.
If tax based incentives are withdrawn after 31 December 2004 (as announced by the Irish Minister of Finance last December), not only would incoming commercial film productions such as Reign of Fire relocate to the UK (where tax and other incentives continue) but lower to mid-range indigenous films (supported respectively at 60 per cent and 15 per cent by the IFB) would also have to look elsewhere for tax breaks. As a direct consequence, the Irish state broadcaster, RTE, (which late last year proposed to make an annual contribution of Euros3m towards film production taken from licence fee revenue) is unlikely to want to invest in films made in the UK or in other countries.
Only low budget culturally-driven films that were 100 per cent funded by the IFB would then continue to be produced in the Republic of Ireland, thus sounding the death knell for the IFB, as another institution, such as the Irish Arts Council, might be a more appropriate choice to fund similar films.
To avoid the bleak scenario described in his speech entitled “Film Production in Ireland, the way forward for a cultural industry”, James Hickey made three key recommendations to the IFB: lobbying the government to continue the Section 481 incentive after December 2004; re-focus its support for local producers making mid-range films for the international marketplace; and increase collaboration with RTE on all forms of film and TV production.

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