Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 30: To ask the Minister for Tourism; Culture and Sport if she has received representations from the film industry regarding the extension of Section 481 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997; her views in relation to this proposal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44102/10]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As Deputies will be aware, the benefits of film and television production in Ireland include not only job creation in the industry but positive spin-off effects for promoting Ireland as a tourist destination and as an industrial location for all aspects of creative endeavours. The Irish audiovisual sector was valued at €557.3 million in 2008, equivalent to 0.3% of GDP, and it employs almost 7,000 people in about 570 companies.

Government support for the industry through section 481 tax relief and the Irish Film Board has helped to attract major productions to Ireland and give the Irish film industry invaluable experience. For its own part, the industry has demonstrated consistently high quality standards of work, earned several prestigious international awards and developed valuable connections. In 2008 the section 481 scheme was extended for a further four years until the end of 2012. Improvements were also made to the scheme by increasing the overall ceiling on qualifying expenditure, raising the cap that applies to individual investors and increasing the relief available on that investment from 80% to 100%. These changes gave the Irish audiovisual sector a major boost in challenging times and resulted in 44 film projects being approved in 2009, up from 38 in 2008, with a total Irish spend of €106.7 million.

In 2010, the film industry has attracted 46 productions to Ireland so far with accompanying expenditure of €135 million. These projects will support employment for crew, cast and extras of more than 10,000 individuals and will maintain and create jobs in a very difficult climate, while at the same time producing a product that will help to sell Ireland abroad. Significant projects this year include "Camelot" and "This Must Be The Place", starring Oscar winning actors Sean Penn and Frances McDormand.

I have received representations from the audiovisual sector regarding extending section 481 beyond its current deadline of the end of 2012. The Irish film industry has the potential to sustain and increase employment in the coming years and make a far greater contribution to the economy than the cost of the tax relief. I consider the existence of section 481 to be vital to the future of the industry and have made representations to the Minister for Finance regarding the need to retain it. The four year plan unveiled today does not indicate removal of section 481. Given the sensitivity of budgetary matters, the Deputy will understand that I cannot provide any more detail.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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We must stimulate our economy and this is one stimulant proven to work. The net gain to the Exchequer in 2009, for example, was more than €25 million; the gross gain was approximately €58 million, with tax foregone at approximately €32 million. The tax incentive has been very successful and without the incentive we would not have major film productions coming to the country.

The Minister has given a very positive reply but she knows that productions are planned two or three years ahead of time, which means people are now considering Ireland for productions in 2013. Certainty would be provided to the film industry if a statement could be made in the budget, and there are very good reasons for the Minister to state in the budget that we intend to continue the incentive for the length of the four year plan. That would bring us to 2014 and perhaps it could apply for even longer.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Any discussion we will have on this tax relief would be similar to that on the 12.5% corporation tax rate as we would all agree on the matter. It is an essential relief, not only because of its economic value but also because of the number of people it facilitates employment for and the way it supports the creative sector and not just the technical side. There is also a knock-on effect for tourism and people working here, as well as the image portrayed of Ireland abroad. On at least four different counts it is critical.

I visited the set of Sean Penn's film and that of "Neverland", which is being filmed on Killiney hill. Every person from a wide geographical area with any skill or talent in the film sector was employed in the project, and Killiney Castle was full because actors and other personnel were staying there. There was much activity. In the plan there is a list of reliefs to be removed but the film relief is not one of those.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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We would all find ourselves in agreement with the very positive responses to this question. Has anybody considered the video game sector and is there an equivalent to section 481 that should apply to the industry? The potential is enormous and there are similar prospects for spinning off, albeit in a slightly different way. There is a major element of intellectual property associated with video games - more than would exist with films - and the sector should be considered.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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If only all questions were like this. The Deputy is absolutely correct and the issues will be addressed in the strategy, which I should publish quickly.