Bigger tax breaks on way as €250m rolls in from film and TV projects

CLOSE TO €250 million will have been spent on film and TV production in the Republic by the end of this year, according to an industry group.

Business lobby group Ibec's audiovisual federation said yesterday that film and television production spending fell to €195.7 million last year from €280 million in 2006, as worsening economic conditions and the Hollywood writers' strike hit the industry.

The federation believes that the industry recovered ground this year, and estimated yesterday that spending will have reached €246 million by the end of 2008.

Director Tommy McCabe also said yesterday that the industry was optimistic that proposed changes to the film tax break regime in the Finance Bill will boost investment next year.

Earlier this week, it emerged that the Government is proposing to increase the maximum qualifying amount that individual investors are allowed to put in to film production projects to €50,000 from €31,750. At the same time, the change will mean that individuals will get 100 per cent tax relief on their investment rather than 80 per cent, which currently applies.

Mr McCabe pointed out that the proposed change, contained in an amendment to the Finance Bill, will bring the Republic's regime into line with other European competitors, and particularly Britain, which boosted its reliefs in recent years to give its industry a tax advantage over its Irish counterpart. Film production spending fell in recent years as other European countries introduced tax-relief regimes that equalled or surpassed the breaks on offer in the Republic.

The federation's figures show that television was the star performer in 2007, accounting for €154 million of the €195.7 million spent by the sector here last year.

Feature film spending came to €19.3 million, just under 10 per cent of the total. This was a fall of 77 per cent on 2006 when it was close to €150 million. Spending on films is likely to have returned to €64 million in 2008, but this is still far short of the 2006 level.

Animation made up the balance of the total, with spending reaching €22.4 million. This outstripped the €17 million that the federation believed would be spent in the sector in 2007.

Highlights during 2007 included ongoing production of The Tudorstelevision series, which stars Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, at Ardmore Studios in Co Wicklow. Work on that is due to restart in April.

The Irish film, Once, won an Oscar for best original song, Falling Slowly. Eileen Walsh, star of Eden, won a best actress award at the Tribeca Film Festival, which is backed by actor Robert de Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal.