Minister O’Donovan and Minister Donohoe launch new enhanced Tax credit for mid-to-lower budget films
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From: Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
- Published on: 27 May 2025
- Last updated on: 27 May 2025
The Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan and the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe today launched the new enhanced Section 481 tax credit for mid-to-lower budget feature films along with a new Screen Ireland Irish language slate development fund for the benefit the Irish film Industry.
Minister O’Donovan was joined today by a range of leading Irish screen artists, including Colm Bairéad, director of Academy Award-nominated An Cailín Ciúin; Nora-Jane Noone, actor and star of the recent Bring Them Down; Jade Jordan, Video Nasty actor and emerging screenwriter; and Eleanor Bowman, cinematographer on Irish films like Lies We Tell and Testimony.
Today also saw Screen Ireland’s Smaointe slate development scheme open for applications, a fund that supports Irish production companies as they develop a slate of creative projects in the Irish language.
‘Scéál’ is an 8% uplift to Ireland’s existing 32% tax incentive for film and television, Section 481. The Sceál uplift of 8% will be available to feature films with a budget of less than €20 million where at least one of the key creative roles of Film Director, Screenwriter, Composer, Editor, Cinematographer and Production Designer; as well as Art Director, Composer and Production Designer in animated feature films is national of, or ordinarily resident in Ireland or the EEA. The feature film must be intended for exhibition at a commercial cinema in Ireland for at least 5 days.
The aim of the uplift is to encourage and support smaller-scale Irish cinema, providing a range of opportunities for film creatives based in Ireland as they build their careers and expand their artistic ambition.
‘Smaointe’ will support Irish-language narrative projects across film, television and animation. enhancing Irish-language storytelling on screen and empower companies specialising in Irish-language production – many of whom are based in regions outside of traditional production hubs – to develop the right skills, capacity and business capabilities.
Minister Patrick O’Donovan said:
"The ‘Scéal’ Uplift provides an additional 8% tax relief to production companies producing small to medium sized feature films or animated feature films. This is a positive change to the Section 481 Film Tax Relief Scheme which will benefit the Irish Film Industry, Irish film workers in senior creative roles and Irish cinemas. I look forward to seeing the productions that will be created in the coming years for the Irish film and animation sectors as a result of this new scheme."
Minister Paschal Donohoe said:
"The Scéal Uplift is a fantastic addition to our already globally recognised Section 481 Film Tax Credit. The uplift will be of great benefit to our smaller indigenous productions, the type that portray Irish stories on screen and project them all over the world. The introduction of this measure shows that this government is dedicated to the continued growth of Ireland as a centre of excellence for film production and I look forward to seeing the positive impact this initiative will have on our sector."
Désirée Finnegan, Chief Executive of Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, said:
"Éireann/Screen Ireland, we are deeply proud to support Irish cinema – productions made possible by the creative talent that has brought our industry so much acclaim and success in recent years. We’d like to thank the Department of Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport, and the Department of Finance for their support as the Scéal uplift is now available, creating a new opportunity for Irish filmmakers and screen artists.
"Working in partnership with these supports, Screen Ireland’s launch of Smaointe, an Irish-language slate development fund, offers a further opportunity for Irish storytelling on screen. Thanks to the incredible success of Irish-language cinema, we are committed to building on the growing ambition and artistic vision from Irish-language film and television."
Notes
Scéal Uplift
The Scéal Uplift provides an additional tax relief to production companies producing small to medium sized productions. It will take the form of an enhanced rate of 40% tax relief, that is, an uplift of 8% to the existing 32% tax relief available under Section 481.
Production companies wishing to qualify for the enhanced support, must meet additional criteria. For a project to qualify for the Scéal Uplift:
(a) The project must be a feature film (including animated film).
(b) qualifying expenditure of less than EUR 20 million
(c) At least one individual who is national of, or ordinarily resident in, Ireland or another EEA State is engaged in a key creative role on the production. The key creative roles are Film Director, Film Screenwriter, Composer, Editor, Cinematographer, Production Designer and for animation feature films it will include Art Director, Composer and Production Designer.
In addition, the film must be intended for exhibition at a commercial cinema or theatre in the State (for a run of 5 or more days).
Smaointe
Earlier this year, Screen Ireland announced plans to ring-fence funding of €5.5 million for nationwide development and for Irish-language storytelling across all genres and formats. ‘Smaointe’ aims to enhance Irish-language storytelling on screen and empower companies specialising in Irish-language production – many of whom are based in the West of Ireland – to develop the right skills, capacity and business capabilities. The fund will enable Irish production companies to compete more effectively on a global scale, and respond to the growing demand and acclaim for Irish-language stories on screen.
After the success of the Cine4 scheme, which has resulted in films like An Cailín Ciúin, Arracht and Fréamhacha, the output of Irish-language film and television has grown exponentially with funding support from Screen Ireland, including the record-breaking Kneecap and acclaimed TV drama Crá.
The Irish creative screen industry continues to experience remarkable growth, driven by sustained government investment. Recent research (averaging data from 2021 – 2023) shows that the Gross Valued Added (GVA) of the audiovisual industry in Ireland is valued at over €1 billion, across live action and animation, digital production, distribution, publishing transmission and exhibition. In terms of employment, the industry supports a total of 15,899 full-time equivalent jobs (FTE).