Ms Mary Nash:

Good evening. I am a principal officer in the arts, film and investment unit of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. My colleague, Mr. Anthony Donnelly, is with the film unit. On behalf of the Department, I thank the committee for the invitation to discuss its section 481 report. I will speak briefly on some of the recommendations made, and I can expand on these later if members wish. My colleagues from the other Departments will discuss their areas.

Turning to recommendation 4, and these are in no particular order, this relates to defining the phrase "quality employment and training". In the context of the audiovisual industry, that phrase is wide-ranging. Regulation 3 of the 2019 film regulations allows for the "provision of quality employment, and training ... opportunities" as an option that can satisfy the Minister to allow for the issuing of a section 481 certificate. In practice in the Department, the provision of quality employment opportunities and training opportunities are separate determinants. Since 2019, to provide training opportunities, a skills development plan, tab F, must be provided in all cases and must contain minimum outputs and outlays. The provision of quality employment is addressed by requiring producers and qualifying companies to undertake to fully comply with all employment and other relevant legislation under tab M. In addition, the Department lays down criteria under the safe to create programme, with additional requirements being introduced this year, with the objective of eliminating damaging behaviours such as bullying, harassment, humiliation and victimisation from all creative workplaces and providing respectful and dignified workplaces.

In 2023, Screen Ireland commissioned the Cultural Dividend Generated by Ireland’s Section 481 Film and Television Incentive report. It was shared with the committee and I hope the members have had a chance to look at it. It sought to define quality employment. Interestingly, the definition of what constitutes quality employment or a good jobs is a growing but contested area of research. The term can be subjective and open to interpretation.

Recommendation 11 relates to accreditation in the area of training. As part of its role as the development agency for the Irish audiovisual industry, Screen Ireland builds links between industry and education to establish structured and certified work-based learning programmes for new entrants up to senior career progression levels. Rather than enumerate long lists of courses, which might bore the committee, I will give a recent example that will illustrate this context more effectively. Screen Ireland, in collaboration with Technological University Dublin, TU Dublin developed a new level 8 programme for screen professionals to gain accredited recognition for their skills learned on the job.,

Potential learners can gain entry to this programme via recognition of prior experiential learning, RPEL. This means screen industry professionals who have not had the opportunity to engage in formal study to level 7 and who can demonstrate that they have achieved comparable learning in the workplace are eligible for the programme. It is an 18-month taught part-time programme, with delivery being flexible to allow participants to continue in full-time work. The resulting degree, a bachelor of arts in screen industry practice will be comparable to other BA honours degrees in TU Dublin. It will be open to people across the screen industries and is not a professional or department-specific qualification.

Recommendation 14, then, speaks to stakeholder engagement. We are organising a stakeholder forum to be held in Dublin on 8 February. The configuration will incorporate a mixture of plenary and break-out sessions and workshops. The objective will be to consider the four areas identified by this committee, namely, to maximise the benefits of section 481, employment rights, copyright issues and other matters of concern to the film industry. Hopefully, some of the latter will be identified in advance. There will be a particular focus on ensuring that all stakeholders are given the opportunity to express their views and have their voices heard.

I turn now to an update for the committee on the latest metrics. In 2023, the Department issued 119 certificates to 75 companies. This brings the total number of certificates issued to 435 for the four years from 2020 to 2023, or an average of 109 certificates per annum. The 119 certificates issued last year included 25 for animation projects, 30 for feature films, 44 for TV drama and 19 for creative documentaries.

This overview touches lightly on a range of issues, but, as I said, Mr. Donnelly and I are happy to expand on any topic. I thank the committee.