Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 69, 70, 80 and 85 together.

I take this opportunity to congratulate the five Irish nominations for academy awards which were announced recently. This is a wonderful achievement of which all of the Irish audiovisual industry should be proud. It is also worth pointing out that three of the nominations were for projects that were funded by the Irish Film Board. Let us hope there will be some Irish winners when the awards are handed out on 7 March.

My Department's primary operational role in supporting the film sector relates to the administration of elements of section 481 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 which provides tax relief for investments in qualifying films. A qualifying film is a film for which the Revenue Commissioners have issued a certificate under section 481. The types of film eligible for certification are feature film, television drama, creative documentary and animation. These types are eligible whether computer generated or otherwise but, as Deputies are aware, computer games are currently excluded.

I recently established an audiovisual content production industry strategy framework group - the name is a mouthful - that will assist in providing a clear vision for the future of the industry and response to market changes. I have no doubt that the whole area of computer games development will be examined as a significant part of the work programme of the group. Following the receipt of the report, which I expect to be completed soon, I will examine it and if an opportunity arises to further develop the audiovisual industry here, including any changes relating to computer games development, I will make the necessary amendments to the Irish Film Board Act.

Given the great opportunities available in this area, it should not be excluded from the provisions of the legislation because it is a part of the general audiovisual sector. Similarly, if there are recommended changes required to the section 481 scheme, I will bring immediate proposals to the Minister for Finance seeking his approval and agreement.

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