Budget 2025: Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland Welcomes 8% Uplift To The Film & Television Tax Incentive For Local Film Production with Irish Creative Talent
Posted: 1st October 2024
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, the national agency for the Irish screen industry, today welcomes the Irish Government’s support for the local film industry in Budget 2025, as Minister for Finance Jack Chambers T.D announced the introduction of an 8% uplift to the film tax incentive aimed at supporting local feature film production with Irish creative talent. Screen Ireland would also like to acknowledge the Minister’s recognition of the future growth potential of the VFX industry.
Ray Harman, Chair of the Board of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, welcomed the news:
“On behalf of the Board of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, we’d like to sincerely thank Minister Catherine Martin and Minister Jack Chambers, for their continued support of the Irish screen industry, and recognition of its power and potential. The uplift in the tax incentive has significant potential to expand the depth and breadth of local industry filmmaking, continuing to build creative opportunities for local talent within the sector.”
Commenting on Budget 2025, Désirée Finnegan, Chief Executive, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, said:
“The Irish Government has continued to recognise the cultural, critical and commercial success of Irish film, television and animation. We would like to thank Minister Catherine Martin for her steadfast support of the Irish screen industry and Minister Jack Chambers for the new sectoral supports announced today.
Screen Ireland is delighted to welcome the incentive uplift to further develop Irish cinema, local production and creative artists. In an intensely competitive global industry, the fiscal incentive together with Screen Ireland investment, is vital in supporting Irish filmmaking and storytelling on screen, led by Irish creative talent. These enhancements support the continued development of Ireland as a cultural powerhouse and a creative production partner on an international scale.”
The 8% Uplift has been introduced to address the significant challenges faced by smaller feature film projects. This uplift is subject to state aid approval and will apply to feature film productions with a maximum global budget of 20 million euro. More details on the uplift will be detailed in a further finance bill next week.
Also announced in today’s Budget 2025 was the introduction of a 20% tax incentive for unscripted production, which offers further opportunities for growth across the Irish screen industry.
With an international wave of cultural acclaim for Irish storytelling on screen, the Irish screen industry’s reputation has risen to new heights on the world’s stage. This has been marked by a surge of new voices and emerging talent – as well as a new era for Irish-language film.
2024 is already seeing the achievement of more milestones, and the global reach of Irish cinema is continuing around the world: with Kneecap, the first ever Irish language film to be selected for the Sundance Film Festival; Small Things Like These becoming the first ever Irish film to open the Berlin International Film Festival; five Irish films premiering in one year at the Cannes Film Festival; and the agency’s expansion into digital games with IndieDev, a cross-border games prototype fund – the first of its kind on the island of Ireland.