Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 50: To ask the Minister for Arts; Heritage and the Gaeltacht his plans to extend section 481 tax relief to the digital content creation industry or sourcing other funding to assist that industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29829/11]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Primary responsibility for the support and promotion of film-making in Ireland, in respect of both the indigenous sector and inward productions, lies with the Irish Film Board which is funded through my Department and has been allocated € 18.4 million in 2011 to carry out its functions.

Under section 481 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, tax relief is allowed for investments in certain films. The types eligible for certification are feature films, television dramas, creative documentaries and animation features. The scheme is kept under regular review in conjunction with the Irish Film Board and any enhancements considered necessary to retain or regain competitiveness are brought to the attention of the Minister for Finance, as appropriate. The scheme has been extended to the end of 2015.

The development of the Irish audiovisual industry, including incentives to build strong companies, was examined during the preparation of the Creative Capital report - Building Ireland's Audiovisual Creative Economy. The report was published in July and an implementation committee is examining the advancement of its recommendations.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Action must be taken to position Ireland as one of the most progressive and digitally advanced business environments. As the Minister is aware, I raised this issue previously at Question Time when I asked his Department to examine the Canadian model in terms of what it was doing for the gaming industry, in particular. Has the Department examined this model? Has it consulted the Minister for Finance and his Department to determine if it would be possible to introduce that model here because Google Ireland's chief executive, Mr. John Herlihy, previously told a seminar that he believed there would be a tremendous opportunity for content creation in Ireland but that we needed to look at the rules of law in place. The Canadian model is renowned the world over. I highlighted this issue for the Minister previously at Question Time and wonder what advances he has made to date in this regard.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I took the Creative Capital report, Building Ireland's Audiovisual Traded Economy, to the Cabinet and as a result an implementation group was put in place across Departments. It held its first meeting last week. The report is important, as it contains a large number of recommendations that could help to achieve the objective of doubling the number employed in the audiovisual industry to 10,000 and increasing overall income from €500 million to €1 billion.

With regard to the gaming industry, the Deputy probably heard what the Taoiseach had to say recently. He has a particular interest in the industry and certain announcements have been made regarding support for it. The Government is very much aware of the potential of the industry. A number of pronouncements have been made in the media recently in that regar. The industry was also mentioned at Dublin Castle the weekend before last.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Who has been included in the membership of this new implementation group?

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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It is chaired by Mr. James Morris from the Irish Film Board and is cross-departmental. It is a Government group comprising representatives from the various agencies and Departments involved in implementing the recommendations of the report.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister might come back to me with the membership of the group.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Initially it was an inter-agency group chaired by Mr. James Morris and it was very effective during the term of office of the previous Government. It is a good report and my job is to implement its recommendations. Those involved are all well known and reputable individuals. They held their first meeting last week and according to the reports I have heard, it was very positive. I am very confident that the individuals concerns will implement some of the recommendations proposed in the report. I will come back to the Deputy with the names of the members of the group.