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

I acknowledge that the Deputy has been consistently raising this and related issues, and I am happy to pick up on the work my predecessor, Deputy Donohoe, did with him on these issues. The Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has met Screen Producers Ireland and visited Ardmore Studios. She will, I am sure, assist in trying to bring about a resolution to these issues.

Section 481 is a valuable tax relief. The audiovisual sector has performed well and we want to ensure any changes we consider will not undermine the attractiveness of the sector in Ireland. Nevertheless, we have to ensure that all those who are directly involved in production, including all the professionals the Deputy mentioned, are treated fairly and protected in every possible respect. There has been positive progress in negotiations between employer and worker representatives in the audiovisual sector in recent years. The Deputy will be very familiar with the modernised crew agreement, agreed and introduced in January 2021, and last year, Screen Producers Ireland and the ICTU film construction group of unions secured a construction crew agreement. I will come back to the copyright issue in my subsequent reply.

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