Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

As I said earlier, the audiovisual industry was one of the success stories of 2021, recording a record level of output in the face of Covid-19. New figures published recently reveal a record-breaking spend of more than €500 million in the Irish economy across film, television, drama, documentary and animation production in Ireland in 2021.

The Irish screen production industry is building a reputation for high-quality production across the world. The 2022 allocation for Screen Ireland will amount to €36.743 million comprising €32.15 million in capital funding and €4.593 million in current funding. For screen allocations, there will be pay of €2.2 million and non-pay of €2.275 million with capital funding at €32.15 million.

That €6.65 million will allow them to keep indigenous production levels at a pace that is consistent with previous years. That is where that is being targeted. It will enable the encouragement of more regional productions in the Irish language; continue the training academies, which build on the skill set that is needed; introduce a new funding stream to support documentary series; and a provide a further round of State funding to support Irish companies. That money will allow them to invest in IT and marketing and recruit key roles and talent such as a diversity and inclusion manager, a project manager, a development executive, an audience engagement executive, an IT executive and a HR executive. That is where the money will be targeted.