Ms Mary Nash:

It is section 481A of the Taxes Consolidation Act. The Finance Act 2021 provides for the introduction of a tax credit for the digital gaming sector. It is in the form of a corporation tax credit in respect of the costs of developing certain games that is very similar to what is available under section 481. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked if we have had any applications yet and we have not because no expenditure that happened before the regulations were signed could be claimed against. The credit only started last November. The credit available for digital games would be 32% of the lowest eligible expenditure, 80% of totally qualifying expenditure or €25 million. It is subject to a minimum qualifying expenditure requirement of €100,000, which is quite low. The reason for its introduction is that the digital gaming sector has seen exponential growth in the past decade. However, this growth has not been reflected in Ireland's digital gaming industry, partly because people in the industry were going north of the Border where they could benefit from a tax credit. Ireland has the potential to explore the synergy with our established film and animation sectors to support employment in creating digital gaming hubs in the country. It was also included in the audiovisual action plan, which is the Government's action plan for the screen industries. There may not be precise overlaps but as I said in my opening speech, we have a strong visual and special effects sector that has grown exponentially in recent years, and the animation sector. There are similarities there. In concert with the way-----