John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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538. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the funding allocated to the film industry between 2011 to 2016; the spending on the film industry as a percentage of GNP in that time in tabular form; and her views on funding plans for the film industry in budget 2017. [22589/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Irish Film Board (IFB) has primary responsibility for the support and promotion of film-making in Ireland, in respect of both the indigenous sector and inward productions. The following table shows the allocation from my Department to the Irish Film Board from 2011 to 2016:

The other primary mechanism through which the Government supports the film industry is Section 481 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 - the film tax relief scheme. This incentive was enhanced in Budget 2016, when the cap for eligible expenditure on film projects was increased from €50 million to €70 million. In 2015, the amount of film tax relief authorised was €51 million.

The Sound and Vision Fund administered by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland also provides funding for the audiovisual industry in Ireland.

My Department has not prepared figures setting out this spending on the film industry as a percentage of GNP.

The Programme for a Partnership Governmentcontains a very important commitment to work to progressively increase funding for the Arts, including the Ar to the Irish Film Board, as the economy continues to improve. I will be engaging with my colleagues in Government and with the Oireachtas to seek to advance this commitment in the context of the forthcoming estimates and budgetary processes.