LARGE PRODUCTIONS, such as Star Wars, are likely to be attracted to Ireland by a combination of the "Tom Cruise Clause", which qualifies the salaries of actors and crew outside of the EU for tax credits, and an increased profile for Ireland because of the Star War scenes shot on Skellig Island. I'm thinking about what this means for Troy Studios, a large facility in Limerick located in the 340,000 square foot former Dell factory.
I trained former Dell employees for follow-on jobs after their contracts terminated in the manufacturing plant. We used briefing rooms in Limerick's Absolute Hotel for three months of intense academic work. Less than a half mile away in both directions, students in the Limerick School of Art & Design master creative skills that could complement production studios considering filming in Ireland.
The film and television sector of Ireland depend upon tax relief under Section 481 of the tax code. Tax breaks and credits accrue under Section 481 on qualifying expenditures. This means the cost of all the cast and crew working in Ireland, as well as the goods and services produced in Ireland, can be written off against revenue of a company. A maximum of 80% of the global budget up to a max of 70 million euro quality, under new 2016 terms approved by the Minister for Finance, Limerick TD Michael Noonan.
The Irish Film Board has seen its funding for investment in production slashes by 40% during the recession. It was granted an overall budget of 14 million euro by the Department of Arts last year, a total that increased to 14.5 million in 2016. When ex-Dell workers were retrained inside the Absolute Hotel in 2008, the Film Board was getting 23.2 million euro from the State.
The film industry goes where the money can be found. The global industry wants to produce high-end TV series, something I've subscribed to receive via both my Netflix and Amazon Video accounts. As a Limerick creative multimedia lecturer, I would like to see appropriate resources put in place by the Irish government so allow more of our creative animators and video producers to work on sets throughout the Republic of Ireland.
[Bernie Goldbach is the senior drone pilot and creative multimedia lecturer at the Limerick Institute of Technology.]
