MR David Collins of Dublin production company, Samson Films, has produced films and TV series with a total budget of £19.1 million, over the last 18 months. A third series of Ms Lynda La Plante's drama The Governor, for ITV, is expected to begin filming here in the autumn.

The £10 million, seven hour, second series, was co produced by Samson. It was also shot in Dublin and is being shown on British TV.

A mixed Irish and British crew filmed The Governor for 16 weeks earlier this year, at various locations around Dublin, including Wheatfield prison.

A special set was constructed in a warehouse near Dublin's Point Theatre. At peak production, over 100 people, mostly Irish, were employed. Key personnel, including the lighting cameraman and three of the directors, were Irish.

The third series, with Janet McTeer in the title role, is in prospect. The drama also stars Red Dwarf actor, Craig Charles, as one of the prisoners. It will be shot in Ireland, because of the Section 35 tax incentives and the assistance of the Department of Justice in providing access to authentic locations.

Samson Films has also just coproduced A Further Gesture, a £4.2 million Channel 4 feature, starring Stephen Rea. The story centres on an IRA man who escapes from the Maze prison to find a new life in America.

One third of the picture was shot in Ireland and the rest in New York.

The Disappearance of Finbar, a £3.5 million film co produced with Swedish and British interests, is being completed.

Turnover of £8 million is projected on productions involving Mr Collins over the next year. The Section 35 tax break requires that a separate company be established for each project.

For this reason, Samson's turnover is considerably lower than the film budgets it oversees. Samson aims for a company income of between £500,000 and £750,000 each year.

Out of this comes development costs, fund raising costs, legal, travel and staff overheads. Samson invests between £50,000 and £100,000 each year in developing projects.

This can be written off against tax.

Most films should, in theory, be in profit before they are shot, according to Mr Collins. A pre sale agreement with an end user is normally in place.

In return the producer must sign away a substantial proportion of his rights to the material.

"Every film is a unique financing project with different personnel, money and relationships." It is not a business like engineering or software," Mr Collins said.

"I'm not a distributor or a sales agent. I rely most on my production fees," he said. "I must make sure they reimburse me for my development costs - the risk capital - and that I get a reasonable premium. I must also negotiate for Samson, a share of income, if income arises after the financiers have got their costs."

Among a number of projects in development is Ruling Passions the story of Roger Casement, the last man to be hanged in England for treason. This is scheduled to be directed by Mr Thaddeus O'Sullivan.

Mr Collins said he was delighted that Section 35 had been retained for another three years. However, he urged that special provision be made for films costing £1.5 million or less, many of which tend to be home grown.

"There have been casualties and there may be more. It is a market. People shouldn't lose their nerve.

"I hope the recent changes won't affect the level of activity," Mr Collins said.

When the tax incentive began operation, a number of producers who had projects on the shelf for several years, suddenly found they had a green light for them. They may now be facing a hiatus before they get the next project made, Mr Collins said.

"The feeling of boom is not as strong now," he said.

"There was a bulge in production last year. If a producer was left exhausted, broke or disillusioned by the process, then there may be a gap before the next venture. It is important that Irish production companies should make a profit, so they're in a strong enough position to get the next project made," Mr Collins said.

The major source of funds for Mr Collins' productions has been Britain. He maintained that if a core industry is to be established then RTE must play its part, by backing more home produced drama.

In 1984, David Collins formed Samson, whose first films included Pigs, directed by Mr Cathal Black and The Woman who married Clark Gable, directed by Mr Thaddeus O'Sullivan.

He co founded Strongbow Film and Television Productions with Mr John Kelleher in 1985.

With Mr Bill Hughes he also co founded Radius Television, one of Ireland's largest independent TV companies, producing over 60 hours a year of new programming for Irish and overseas broadcasters.