Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Thank you. I was just clarifying where we are starting. In the budget announcement and provided for within the Finance Bill is a very welcome regional uplift of 5% with respect to the film tax relief. As I understand it, the uplift of the tax relief across the regions is underpinned by the European Union regional aid guidelines. The map accompanying those guidelines indicates the greater Dublin area and Cork are excluded. Nevertheless, there is film, television and animation activity in Cork and this means, in effect, that my city and county will be at a very significant disadvantage in that qualifying activity there will attract less relief than in other parts of the country. I wish to raise the matter with the Minister on behalf of Film in Cork, which is the local organisation providing production and location support services to those working in film, television and animation. It is an initiative of Cork county and city councils, and it quite justifiably makes the point that the exclusion of the city and the county from the regional uplift element of the extension of this relief will have consequences. It will mean, when it comes to investment decisions, that Cork will inevitably lose out.

I understand the background and the EU regional aid guidelines. My question is whether there is any flexibility. Does the relief in the application of the regional uplift have to be underpinned by those guidelines, which explicitly exclude not just Dublin but also Meath, Wicklow and Kildare, as well as Cork city and county. The rest of the country is included under those guidelines. If it cannot be done in this way, I know that in the past Screen Ireland, the national organisation that is the development agency for Irish film, television and the animation industry, had a regional support fund. That does not currently exist but perhaps it is an avenue that could be examined as well.

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