Irish producers make pre-budget submission to government

In its pre-budget submission to Irish Minister for Finance Brian Cowan, Screen Producers Ireland (SPI) has called on the Irish government to introduce a number of measures to help promote the independent film and television production sector in the country.
As well as looking for increased funding for the Irish Film Board, it also urged the government to establish a fund to support Irish language producers, to provide extra funding to TG4 and to continue to examine the film investment tax incentive schemes offered in other countries and to remove the cap on investment in feature film.
According to SPI Director Malcolm Byrne, such measures are essential if the industry is to develop in the next year. He said: "The forthcoming budget offers the government the chance to make a real difference to the film production industry in Ireland. Firstly we would like to see a significant increase in the level of funding for the Irish Film Board. It has had a significant impact on supporting the development of Irish film over the last eleven years and has placed new emphasis on supporting the marketing and distribution of Irish films and animation, as well as for the support for filming in regional locations.
"Despite the large amount of revenue the board helps bring into the country every year their level of resourcing is less than a quarter of that of their counterparts in Denmark, who operate in a similar sized territory. If the board is to continue its good work it needs an increase of about €2 million per year. Otherwise the Irish film industry will lose out."
SPI also pointed towards the Irish language production sector as an area that needed to be given priority in 2005. "With the various initiatives that are being introduced in the North to promote Irish language programming, the government needs to act now if they are to protect the State's investment in Irish language television production. We believe a dedicated fund should be established to support producers of Irish language television programmes, as is the case in Northern Ireland with the establishment of the Irish Language Broadcast Fund.
"This would involve a combination of programme specific grant aid and repayable loans. Without these measures we will see the Northern companies forging ahead at the expensive of production companies in the South. They will have the resources and revenue, thanks to the funding measures introduced in Northern Ireland, to undercut companies in the South when it comes to tendering for commissions and will be more likely to receive those commissions as a result. The government must do all in their power to ensure there is a level playing field in this regard," continued Byrne.
SPI is also urging the Minister for Finance Brian Cowan to provide more funding for TG4 so the station can increase the proportion of original Irish language programming it broadcasts everyday. Currently the Galway based station broadcasts for 19 hours per day, but only 3.2 hours (or under 19%) is original Irish language programming.
SPI is seeking Exchequer funding for the station to be initially increased to €30 million for 2005, from its current level of €23.3 million. That would be followed by further staged increases over the following three years, reaching €44 million in 2008. According to SPI this money is badly needed if TG4 is to broadcast more original Irish programming and live up to the remit that it was established to fulfil.
The Pre-Budget Submission also calls on the Minister to continue to monitor the changes to film investment tax incentive schemes in other territories, to ensure that Ireland can remain as a competitive country in which to produce films and that preparations be made for further tax incentive schemes in the future.
(GB)