The section 481 tax incentive is the most important factor in bringing television film and production to Ireland, according to a report released today.
The report, by creative industries consultancy Osberg SPI and commissioned by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland found that 89% of incoming expenditure on film and television production here can be attributed to the scheme.
It says that expenditure for Section 481 productions in Ireland reached €500m in 2021 and that a high proportion of projects accessing Section 481 rely on Irish creative talent, with 68% using Irish talent between 2017 and 2021.
Eleven Section 481 productions achieved major international awards or nominations between 2017 and 2022.
Working conditions and stability were also explored in the report, with 69% of respondents saying they felt they had a future in the Irish screen sector and 54% saying they had worked in the sector for more than ten years.
The estimated average salary for all screen workers was €57,372 and for full time employees, both freelance and those in companies, was €65,096.
The report found that between 2017 and 2021, 21 Irish language productions accessed Section 481, equating to 12% of indigenous productions.
Respondents to the survey aged under 35 were most likely to say that Irish screen content encouraged people to be proud of the Irish language and made them want to learn it or speak it more frequently.
