Budget 2026: Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland Welcomes 40% Rate for Visual Effects (VFX) Production and Improvements to Digital Games Tax Credit
Posted: 7th October 2025
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, the national agency for Ireland’s screen industry, welcomes the Irish Government’s continued support for the sector in Budget 2026, as the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe T.D. today announced an enhancement to the Section 481 Film Tax Credit to provide for a new 40 per cent rate of relief for productions with a minimum of €1 million of eligible expenditure on relevant VFX work, alongside an extension and updates to the existing digital games tax incentive.
Ray Harman, Chair of the Board of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, welcomed the news today and said:
“On behalf of the Board of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, we strongly welcome today’s Budget 2026 announcements, including the introduction of a new 40% rate of relief for Visual Effects (VFX) production in Ireland and an update to the digital games tax incentive. Our sincere thanks go to the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan T.D., the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe T.D. and the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services, Reform and Digitalisation Jack Chambers T.D. for their ongoing recognition and championing of the Irish screen industry. The Irish VFX sector has demonstrated huge potential for growth – and thanks to this support from the Irish Government, Screen Ireland will continue to work closely with the sector’s leading studios as they look to expand and develop the sector.
In recent years, Screen Ireland has expanded its remit to support the digital games sector, with new pilot concept development schemes and support for all-island initiatives. We believe there is a unique opportunity to bring together Ireland’s globally recognised standard of creative and technical skills and use them to transform digital games in Ireland.”
Désirée Finnegan, Chief Executive of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, welcomed today’s Budget 2026 announcements, saying:
“Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland would like to thank Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan T.D. and Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe T.D. for their continued recognition and championing of the Irish creative screen industries.
Screen Ireland also welcomes a new 40% rate of relief for VFX production in Ireland. Irish VFX and post-production work showcases the very best of visual artistry and technical expertise, generating commercial success and international award-winning work. Screen Ireland has worked closely with Ireland’s VFX and post-production studios to strengthen relationships with the world’s leading film studios to drive growth, employment and skills development opportunities through the National Talent Academy for VFX.
The extension and improvements to the Digital Games Tax Credit are strongly welcomed and will support the potential for significant growth across the games sector in Ireland.
Today’s Budget 2026 announcements build on the international success of the Irish creative screen industries, demonstrating an ambitious vision for the future of arts and culture in Ireland. These expanded supports for filmmakers and artists, across VFX and digital games, have the power to transform the Irish screen industry into a leading global production hub for creativity and innovation.”
The new 40% rate for visual effects (VFX) been introduced to support the growing VFX sector in Ireland, allowing Ireland to compete effectively with locations such as the UK, France, New Zealand and Canada, which currently offer targeted incentives for carrying out VFX-heavy projects in their jurisdictions. The sector in Ireland is rapidly expanding, and Irish VFX studios have worked on some of the biggest films and television series in the world, from Marvel Studios’ Wanda Vision and Spiderman – No Way Home to FX’s Shogun for Disney Plus.
During the Budget 2026 speech, Minister Paschal Donohoe acknowledged the creativity and success of Ireland’s digital games sector, and to provide certainty and encourage growth, announced an extension to this tax incentive for a further six years. The Credit will also allow for claims in respect of post release content work, where the original game availed of the Digital Games Tax Credit. Further detail will be published as part of the Finance Bill.
Recent research shows that the Irish screen industry contributes over €1 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the Irish economy, and supports a total of 15,899 full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs). The sector has experienced remarkable success in recent years, from 2021’s record-breaking year for production, the transformation of Irish language cinema, and global acclaim for Irish film and Irish talent, both on screen and behind the camera.