Ms Désirée Finnegan:

In terms of the volume of productions seen in 2020, the number is not too far off what it was in 2019 but it is interesting to note that the value of those productions is down. We estimate they are down approximately €25 million. That is because we have been able to get the lower budget productions up and running. That is partly because those the funds covering some of the health and safety protocol implementation costs and the production continuation fund. For example, a couple of feature films came through one of our schemes. It is called the point of view scheme and is aimed at female directors. It is really the lower budget films that were able to get back in.

In terms of a gap, there is a lot being made so hopefully the Deputy will not see a gap in his viewing experience.

On the international production side, in our trade mission in 2019 the interest in Ireland as a location for international productions was significant. It is not only our tax incentive, though that is incredibly important - there are now almost 100 such fiscal incentives operating around the globe - it is also our workforce. There is very talented and skilled crew in the country. It is also our geographical location and English as a language. Many different elements go into that decision-making. In particular since the pandemic began, health and safety has become one of the top priorities in decision-making. We are still a competitive location for production and we have seen a great deal of interest in coming back to Ireland and bringing international productions here.

Screen Ireland has supported all the Irish film festivals, helping them transition online, which has been challenging for all the festivals, including the Galway Film Fleadh and the Cork Film Festival. They have done incredible work. It is very hard because marketing has to completely had to reimagine how they promote the films. All the traditional ways have not been available throughout this time. At Cork, one of the Screen Ireland films won the audience award, so creative solutions have been put in place to keep marketing and promoting Irish films.