Vampire horror movie, Abigail starring Dublin teenager, Alisha Weir was one of the big winners in the €40.5m paid out in movie corporation tax credits in the first quarter of this year.
New figures provided by the Revenue Commissioners show that Irish co-producers, Wild Atlantic Pictures Ltd of Abigail - due for general release later this month - received corporation tax credits between €5m and €10m under Section 481 of the Tax Consolidation Act.
Only this week, 14 year old Alisha Weir wasamong those to feature in the new Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list of rising talents in the world of entertainment.
The Revenue figures also show that the production firm, Sackville Film and Productions Two Ltd,behind The Watchers - starring Dakota Fanning, who is currently featuring in the Netflix drama Ripley, received between €2m and €5m in corporation tax credits this year.
The €40.5m claimed in tax credits for the first quarter is a 28% jump on the €30.6m claimed for the same period last year and compares to €129.5m for the 12 months of 2023.
Director of Strategic Policy at Screen Producers Ireland, Anthony Muldoon said today that the film and TV tax incentive Section 481 "is essential to Ireland's independent production landscape".
He said that Section 481 "gives independent producers leverage to attract incoming productions, which creates high value industry jobs in Ireland".
He said: "It also enables producers to make lower budget indigenous productions across the country which bring Irish stories to screens around the world."
Mr Muldoon said: "There are very positive discussions ongoing across the sector about the pipeline of productions for the year 2024, both indigenous and incoming."
He said that the increase in the Section 481 cap to €125m "will enable Irish productions companies to implement long-term planning, leading to increased high-value employment and investment across the country".
He said: "Irish production companies will operate on a more competitive standing internationally and will have better capacity to scale their companies and increase their development and production output."
He said that the measures will support the Government’s ambition to double employment in the screen sector by 2028.
However, the release of the corporation tax credit figures follows criticism of movie industry bosses in the Dail this week.
In an exchange with Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath, Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit Solidarity said: "For years now, film workers have been saying that film producers who get the section 481 tax credit are failing to vindicate those workers' rights."
Deputy Boyd Barrett alleged that at a recent film industry stakeholders’ forum, people present were talking about the lack of security in employment and income for people in the film industry.
Asked to respond, Mr Muldoon said: "Screen Producers Ireland believes that collective bargaining between employer representative bodies and ICTU affiliated trade unions is a key growth enabler for the Film and TV sector."
He said: "At present, SPI has four collective agreements with five trade unions which set minimum terms and conditions of employment in the sector."
He said that SPI is also involved with the "Screen Ireland funded meditation process on the implementation of the Copyright Directive with Irish Equity, Writers Guild of Ireland, Screen Directors Guild of Ireland, Screen Composers Guild of Ireland, and Animation Ireland where all the groups involved are working together to find solutions that further endorse transparency and clarity for all working within the sector".
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
