Mr. Eoin Holohan:

I am a non-executive director on the board of Screen Guilds of Ireland, SGI, and work as a location manager in the Irish film and television industry. My colleague, Mr.Keeley, is also a non-executive director on the board of SGI. He works as a model maker in the Irish film and television industry. Ms Drum is the chief executive officer of SGI and, prior to taking up that role, worked for many years in the camera department in the Irish film and television industry. On behalf of SGI, we thank the committee for the invitation to attend this meeting to discuss the film credit.

SGI represents Irish film and television industry crew and their respective guilds who play a vital role in every aspect of production across the various departments within the Irish film and television industry. We currently represent more than 2,500 Irish film and television crew, both PAYE and self-employed, spanning 22 departments. Our focus is predominantly in the area of skills training and development across many departments, including accounts, art, assistant directors, camera, construction, continuity, costume, facilities, editing, grips, hair, locations, make-up, model-making, production, prosthetics, set decoration, sound, special effects, stunts, transport and visual effects. We are continuing to grow and we endeavour, in time, to be fully inclusive of the Irish film industry as a whole. We are a proud community of crew working together in a creative industry, utilising a wide range of individual skills, crafts, experience, and expertise with one common goal - to promote excellence in the art of film making, both here in Ireland and through recognition abroad.

SGI aims to promote excellence in all fields of film and television production in Ireland through the representation of its member guilds, made up primarily of Irish film crew. Each department or guild nominates a crew member to represent it in discussion and negotiation of all business relating to our professions within the industry. Our members were involved in securing a new working agreement in 2022, including the introduction of the provision for the construction workers' pension scheme, CWPS, which is a welcome progression for the welfare of the crew. SGI, as a representative for these guilds, is proactive in its direct engagement with Fís Eireann-Screen Ireland, Screen Producers Ireland, SIPTU, Screen Skills Ireland and other recognised industry bodies on all matters concerning our members, namely, Irish film crew.

SGI is committed to establishing and promoting a fair and transparent working environment for all film crew engaged in film and TV production in Ireland, spanning national and international productions of all scales and genres. We are committed to the continued training and upskilling of our members through all grades, ranging from entry-level trainees right through to heads of department, and to the introduction of a fair and transparent upgrade process within the various departments we represent.

Film and television production is an ever-evolving industry and we aim to safeguard our collective interests while upholding the highest of standards in production. Our members, across all guilds, are passionate about working in the Irish film industry and are highly regarded worldwide. We have internationally recognised writers, directors, directors of photography, production designers, costume designers, hair and make-up designers and visual effects technicians to name but a few. We relish the challenges of working across different genres on indigenous and international productions. We understand that a healthy Irish film industry requires international inward production, shooting in tandem with indigenous Irish productions. We enjoy bringing the skills we learn on international films to smaller Irish films, and often vice versa.

The screen sector is currently undergoing a period of intense growth. We must attract new entrants to the industry to cope with this demand. We must ensure that these new crew receive proper training while also ensuring that existing crew members have the opportunity to upskill and progress their careers. Our membership of more than 2,500 crew continues to grow at a rapid pace with the introduction of these new entrants to the industry and returning professionals.

SGI welcomes the extension of section 481 to 2028 as confirmed by the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. We recognise and acknowledge that section 481 has been, and continues to be, crucial to the existence and continued development of our industry. Section 481 affords all of us the opportunity to work and establish careers in a vibrant and creative industry where we can develop skills that allow us to work across the many different genres of film and television. We are proud to be a part of the Irish film industry, and we do not take it for granted. We were especially pleased to see the introduction of the skills development plan in 2018 as part of the application process for section 481 funding.

Since 2019, Screen Ireland has assessed over 160 skills development plans and has tracked over 1,700 skills participants across 160 section 481 productions. The benefit to our members is obvious. This emphasis on skills development within the structure of section 481 compelled us at SGI to consult our membership and develop our competency framework, which is an informative breakdown document for all crew grades across the various departments in the Irish film industry. We completed this work in consultation with the Screen Guilds of Ireland at Screen Ireland. This was a very significant undertaking and is the first of its kind for our industry in the world. The framework is an invaluable tool to crew and it exists as a direct result of the emphasis on skills development within section 481.

We are concerned that the regional uplift continues to decrease and there is no allowance for it in the recent extension to section 481. It is essential that the industry grows and is nurtured in the regions, as well as in the production hub of Dublin and Wicklow. This will require further incentives to locate production in the regions but we are confident that this would pay dividends in the long term. We would like to be involved in a discussion with all stakeholders to reach a consensus on how best to promote filming in the regions and create an industry that is nationwide. We look forward with a positive outlook to the extension of section 481 and especially welcome any opportunity to be involved in future developments of this tax credit as we continue to work in a career full of possibilities within the Irish film and television industries.