Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Irish Film Board (Amendment) Bill 2018 was initiated in the Dáil on 6 November 2018 and passed all Stages on 11 December, to the point where I present it to Senators today.

This is a short, technical Bill which has one important objective, namely, to increase the statutory limit on the cumulative capital outlay, commitments and liabilities that can be advanced to Screen Ireland, formerly known as the Irish Film Board, from €300 million to €500 million.

Section 1 of the Bill sets out to amend section 10 of the Irish Film Board Act 1980, as amended, by increasing the maximum amount of any investments, loans, grants, moneys and guarantees, less recoveries, provided by Screen Ireland to fund Irish film-making from €300 million to €500 million. The proposal to increase the limit on advances is an enabling provision. Funding of Screen Ireland is of course subject to the normal Estimates procedures as set out by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The proposed legislation will therefore not mean any additional costs to the Exchequer as Screen Ireland’s budget is set by the Oireachtas each year.

As is the case with some statutory bodies which receive public funding, a limit was set by statute on such outlays when the Irish Film Board Act 1980 was first enacted. This limit must therefore be reviewed by the Houses of the Oireachtas every five to six years. In this way, the Oireachtas can monitor cumulative capital funding to this statutory body each time the limit needs to be increased. Since the Irish Film Board Act 1980 was first enacted, the funding limit was adjusted upwards on five occasions. It is now proposed to increase this limit from €300 million to €500 million to allow Screen Ireland to continue to operate within an appropriate statutory limit. When the total 2018 capital allocation of €14.2 million is drawn down, it will reach €295.86 million and the limit permitted within the legislation will almost have been reached. The 2019 capital allocation would breach the statutory limit in the absence of new legislation. Accordingly, I am very keen to advance the process of amending the legislation to increase this aggregate further.

Section 2 cites this Bill as the Irish Film Board (Amendment) Bill 2018 and together with Irish Film Board Acts 1980 to 2011 will be cited the Irish Film Board Acts 1980 to 2018. Screen Ireland is the national development agency for Irish film-making and the Irish film, television and animation industry and works within the framework of the Irish Film Board Acts 1980 to 2011. Its statutory remit is to assist and encourage the making of film in the State and the development of a film industry in Ireland. Screen Ireland supports these sectors by providing investment loans for the development, production and distribution of film, television and animation projects. I am pleased to report that €20.04 million is to be allocated to Screen Ireland under the Budget Statement 2019. This is an increase of €2 million on the 2018 figure.

I am glad to report that budget 2019 included an announcement that section 481, which is the Irish tax incentive for film, television and animation, has been extended to 2024. A time limited regional uplift of 5% is also being introduced for the film tax relief. Evidence of the necessity for this legislation is borne out by the activity of Screen Ireland in recent times. In the past seven years, Screen Ireland has assisted the development of a total of 140 feature film projects, 120 documentaries and 30 animation projects. It has also supported over 140 projects for distribution and has seen the development of some 700 projects in the period.

Screen Ireland aims to support and promote Irish film, television and animation through fostering Irish artistic vision and our diverse creative and production talent, growing audiences, and attracting film makers and investment into the country. Recent years were significant in terms of Irish creative talent and the Irish screen industries, not only for the commercial and critical plaudits of Irish film both at home and abroad, but also their breakthrough onto the international stage.

As an agency under the aegis of my Department, Screen Ireland is committed to operating to the highest standards of corporate governance and has put in place an approved code of governance framework which consists of a suite of governance documents setting out the policies, procedures and responsibilities which determine how Screen Ireland conducts its business.

Good governance requires effective procedures for the definition of responsibility and accountability, allocation of budgets, defining expected outputs and outcomes and clear procedures for monitoring performance. My Department has in place with Screen Ireland, an oversight agreement and a programme delivery agreement. The oversight agreement defines the respective roles and responsibilities between both parties as required under the code of practice for the governance of State bodies while the programme delivery agreement sets out the targets and outputs on which performance is measured. In addition, agencies under the aegis of my Department including Screen Ireland have to provide assurances on a regular basis that they are in compliance with employer obligations under the Employment Equality Acts 1998 and 2015, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, and the Employment Equality Act 1998 (Code of Practice) (Harassment) Order 2012.

The updated code of practice for governance of State bodies includes a periodic critical review for State bodies, which means that they will be subject to periodic scrutiny and assessment. Any issues arising therefore will be considered in due course in the context of a planned periodic critical review of this agency along the lines envisaged in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform’s code of practice for the governance of State bodies 2016.