This is an industry-wide, long-term plan, under the Creative Ireland Programme, developed to support the Government's ambition to enable Ireland to become a global hub for the production of film, TV drama and animation.
As referenced above, the Creative Ireland Programme is a five-year initiative, from 2017 to 2022, which places creativity at the centre of public policy. The Audiovisual Action Plan is designed to deliver on the commitment in Pillar 4 to create an industry-wide plan to make Ireland a leader in the audiovisual sector and is intended to drive both increased investment and production across the sector.
The Audiovisual Action Plan sets out the Government's high-level, strategic priorities over the next ten years to develop a vibrant media production and audiovisual sector bringing new economic opportunities across Ireland, through increased Government support.
The Audiovisual Action Plan seeks to implement policy recommendations in 8 key areas:
(1) Oversight of Industry by Steering Group
(2) Section 481 Film Tax Credit
(3) Strategic Review of Feature Film Funding
(4) Funding
(5) Skills Development
(6) Regulatory Reform
(7) Marketing
(8) Other Supports and Reform
To date, investment under the Plan has played an important role in supporting and stimulating local economies.
The European Commission gave approval to the extension of the film tax credit, section 481 until 2024. In addition, the Regional Film Development Uplift credit was introduced which provides an additional tax credit over the four years from 2019 to 2022 to incentivise film production in areas outside of traditional production hubs.
2019 also saw additional funding for Screen Ireland to support increased investment in feature films and TV drama and in 2019 Screen Ireland opened the TV Drama Production funding scheme.
Training and skills development have been a key focus under the AV plan. Screen Skills Ireland introduced new certified programmes including 'Creative Leadership' and 'Advanced Producers' (both in partnership with Technological University (TU) Dublin). Screen Skills Ireland now also play a key role in developing skills development plans in conjunction with producer companies as part of applications for section 481 film tax credit.
In 2019, Ireland signed the revised Council of Europe Convention on Cinematographic Co-production which will facilitate partnerships on co-productions with other European countries. Other key achievements under the plan include the workshops on commercialisation of animation intellectual property and improved marketing of Ireland's audiovisual sector.
The plan was launched in June 2018 and a First Progress Report on implementation of the Plan was published in 2019. It was found that under the eight policy areas, key achievements in the first year of implementation included:
* Clear ownership of the Implementation Plan with cross-departmental and agency engagement;
* Extension of the Section 481 tax credit to 2024;
* Revision of Section 481 Regulations;
* Increase in funding to Screen Ireland which has led to increased investment in TV drama, skills development, support to visit markets and establishing ways to provide a stronger presence in key markets such as Los Angeles;
* Signing of the revised Council of Europe Convention on Cinematographic Co-production;
* Developments relating to reform of the TV Licence fee model;
* Introduction of the Regional Film Development Uplift;
* Development of new skills development courses and enhanced training and skills development opportunities as part of Section 481 revisions.
This includes funding to Screen Ireland which is the development agency for the Irish film, television and animation industry; funding to the BAI (Broadcasting Authority of Ireland), the section 481 tax credit. The initiative Investing in our Culture, Language and Heritage 2018 - 2027 incorporates an amount of EU200m ($234m) for investment in Media Production and the Audiovisual Industry through Screen Ireland over the period of that initiative.
| Name of partner | Type of entity |
|---|---|
Government Departments
| Public Sector
|
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
| Public Sector
|
Screen Ireland
| Public Sector
|
Revenue Commissioners
| Public Sector
|
Enterprise Ireland
| Public Sector
|
IDA Ireland
| Public Sector
|