Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for raising this issue. My Department is not aware of a report by the organisation to which he specifically referred in his question, and the organisation concerned has informed my Department that it has not produced such a report.

However, the Irish Film Board and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland jointly commissioned a report on the issue of training in the Irish film, television and animation industry. The study by consultants Crowe Horwath, Final Report in Respect of a Strategy for the Development of Skills for the Audiovisual Industry in Ireland, was published on the website of the Irish Film Board last August.

The report found - the Deputy mentions this in his question - that the general view of stakeholders in the industry was that section 481 was an ineffective mechanism to deliver quality training opportunities for the industry. It recommended a number of options including the replacement of the requirement with a training levy but stated that further work would be required to design a new mechanism. The Department is working with the Irish Film Board to consider options in this regard as part of the overall response to the 14 key recommendations contained in the report.

It should be noted that the section 481 tax credit system is hugely important in making Ireland an attractive location for internationally mobile film and TV drama productions and in providing significant high-level and high-quality employment in the audiovisual industry. Recent projects locating in Ireland include the BBC's "Little Women", AMC's "Into the Badlands", which returned to Ireland in April to film a third season in Ardmore Studios, "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" and the hugely successful "Vikings" series developed and produced here for the History Channel.

However, it is very important that any requirements regarding training and the delivery of good-quality outcomes for trainees in return for generous tax credits provided by the Government are in situ. My Department will address this issue working closely with the Irish Film Board and having regard to the recommendations of the Crowe Horwath report.

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