Ms D?sir?e Finnegan:

Regional development absolutely is a priority for Screen Ireland. We had a record-breaking year in 2021 and making sure that growth is seen nationwide is incredibly important. We announced last year that within our budget for 2023, we would be ring-fencing €3.5 million specifically for regional activity and we are engaging in a process with regional stakeholders to design the best way to utilise that fund. We have also launched a number of talent academies, two of which are based in the regions, that is, in Limerick and Galway.

The policy objective of the regional uplift relief was to build a pool of talent and crew outside the main hub of Dublin and Wicklow. It was very effective in doing that but, as Mr. Esslemont mentioned, it has tapered off and is available at 2% this year. The Department of Finance has been very supportive. When the pandemic hit and production was shut down, the 5% rate was extended for another year. We are now working with stakeholders across the regions to discuss what might be the most appropriate policy intervention to ensure there is some support in place to incentivise productions to locate outside the main hub. We feel it is quite a challenge because when a production is located outside Dublin or Wicklow, there are additional costs associated with that. Trying to reach that policy objective and see that growth all across the country feels very important for the industry.