Minister said Ireland is missing out on TV and film productions as tax relief cap is too low

She said recent years had seen streaming companies in particular making ever-larger scale productions with correspondingly larger budgets.

In a letter to then finance minister Paschal Donohoe last August, she wrote: “Feedback from Irish visual effects companies at my recent trip to Los Angeles, is that we are losing out to other countries in attracting major internationally mobile productions costing in the region of €100m. They do not consider Ireland, because of the cap.”

She said inflation was also generating pressure and that the cap for eligible expenditure under Section 481 needed to be raised to €100m to help restore the country’s reputation as an attractive filming location. Ms Martin wrote: 

“Raising the cap now would send a strong international message that aligns with and bolsters our infrastructure, facilities, experienced crews, creative talent and beautiful scenery.”

She also asked for a special ‘uplift’ scheme to encourage TV and film production outside Dublin to be extended. Under the scheme, film and TV makers could get a 5% credit for taking their work outside the “main Dublin/Wicklow production hub”.

Betting tax

Ms Martin also called for an increase in the betting tax from 2% to 3% to help fund large-scale sports infrastructure. She said most of the money raised from the existing 2% levy went to the horse and dog-racing sectors and that extra money should go to the wider sports community.

Among the schemes she said merited support were the provision of multi-use astro-pitches in larger towns, and investment in the Sport Ireland campus, including a new velodrome.

A spokesperson for the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media said they had nothing further to add.