Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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65. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will clearly establish, through guidelines or in legislation, that film producer companies in receipt of section 481 film tax relief must take direct responsibility as the employers for all those working on section 481 supported film productions and end the situation in which they are denying this employer responsibility by hiding behind short-lived designated activity companies which are set up as accountancy tools for the duration of a film production and cease to exist shortly afterwards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9673/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Section 481 film relief is intended to act as a stimulus to the creation of an indigenous film industry in the State, creating quality employment opportunities and supporting the expression of the Irish culture. The scheme provides a 32% payable tax credit for eligible expenditure on film production in Ireland.

It is essential that employers in the audio-visual industry, as with all industries, comply with all applicable employment obligations including legislative obligations and policies. This is reflected in the section 481 certification process which was amended as part of Finance Act 2018. This process includes a requirement for applicant companies to complete an undertaking of quality employment, committing applicants to compliance with all relevant employment legislation. These conditions apply not only to the producer company but also to the qualifying company (or Designated Activity Company).The DAC is also required to remain in existence for a period of at least 12 months post the completion of a production.

It is also a requirement to provide information on any adverse decisions of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) against the company or companies within the group. Should a producer company or qualifying company fail to adhere to a condition or obligation specified in a certificate, the Culture certificate may be rendered invalid and any credit claimed may be subject to recoupment by Revenue.

It should be noted that the monitoring of compliance with employment rights legislation is primarily a matter for the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment through the Workplace Relations Commission. The WRC is an independent statutory office mandated to secure compliance with Ireland’s employment, equality and industrial relations legislation. As part of its statutory functions, the WRC adjudicates on cases with regard to employment rights, industrial relations and equal status legislation.

There are no plans to issue further guidelines at this point.