Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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20. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will provide an update on the work of the stakeholders’ forum, one of the recommendations of the recent report on section 481 produced by the Oireachtas Budget Scrutiny Committee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24300/24]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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A Section 481 stakeholder forum was held in February of this year and attended by representatives from all parts of the Irish audiovisual industry.

The structure of the event incorporated a small number of presentations on elements of Section 481 requirements. The majority of the focus of the day, however, was firmly input from the stakeholders themselves and on ensuring that everyone attending from the industry was given ample opportunity to voice their opinions and discuss them with other industry stakeholders. A professional rapporteur conducted the event. A Report of all the views expressed at the Section 481 stakeholder forum will be published shortly and it will seek to ensure that it reflects the wide range of views expressed.

I am informed that there was a range of issues that attending stakeholders felt could be changed, improved and calibrated. Views were expressed with a general sense of collaboration and respect for opposing views. Despite differing viewpoints there was general acknowledgement of the success being enjoyed by the Irish screen industry. This was also reflected also in those organisations attending representing increasing specialisations in the industry - the expansion of VFX, SFX and post-production, the ongoing growth the numbers in animation, the large number of high end TV drama set in Ireland that have been appearing on our screens of late. The positivity observed at the forum has since been reflected in successes at some of the major international Film Festivals. The film Kneecap premiered at Sundance and was screened at SXSW, Small Things Like These opened the Berlin Film Festival and five films were shown at the Cannes Film Festival with Irish producers or Irish creative talent involved..

This month, I attended a range of meetings at the Cannes Film Festival, one of the world’s most prestigious and competitive film festivals and an invaluable platform for filmmakers and artists to launch their films to the international market.

Since the forum took place last February, the European Commission approved an increase in the Section 481 Cap to €125m and its extension to the end of 2028. This will provide certainty to our screen industry and open it up to projects of scale. Given the ongoing upward pressure on production budgets, the increased cap will lead to a thriving film industry, cementing its reputation worldwide for high quality work and a creative, talented workforce.