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

I am aware of the committee’s recent examination of the section 481 film tax credit, and I understand the report was published today. As I said in reply to the Deputy earlier, when I checked online in the middle of the afternoon, it was not available, but I will read it. I compliment the committee on undertaking this work.

In respect of the intellectual property rights of performers, copyright law falls within the remit of the Department of the Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Notwithstanding this, my officials have engaged with the stakeholders concerned, including representative bodies for actors and performers, to gain an understanding of the issue. Copyright is relevant for many workers in the film sector, including authors, producers and broadcasters in addition to actors, and I have been informed Screen Ireland has engaged an independent facilitator to meet key stakeholders to understand the various perspectives of those concerned. Individual stakeholder meetings have been held over the past eight weeks and the next phase will progress to group discussions. I look forward to the outputs from this process.

With regard to employment rights, the Deputy will be aware changes were made to the film tax credit to reinforce the requirement to adhere to employment rights legislation. As part of the cultural certification process, an applicant company is required to submit an undertaking of compliance with all relevant employment legislation. This commits applicants to compliance with all relevant employment legislation in respect of the film being certified. These conditions are to be met not just by the producer company but also by the designated activity company for each production.

As for any specific workplace disputes, the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, and the Labour Court are the organs of the State tasked with the resolution of such matters. It is appropriate that any relevant claims be referred to these bodies for adjudication. I am aware significant progress has been made through the introduction of new collective bargaining agreements in the sector, and my officials will continue to monitor progress in this space.

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