Regional plan needed to support west as important film hub
THE west of Ireland’s status as an important film hub and location for the screen industry is under threat unless a dedicated regional plan and a €10 million investment from the government is put in place.
The Western AV Forum (WAVF), a collective of stakeholders in the west of Ireland’s AV industry, chaired by Ardán, a registered charity based in Galway supporting creative talent in the screen sector, is calling for a €10m investment in regional producers in Budget 2025, as an interim solution to address the lapse of the Section 481 Regional Uplift.
The Uplift, which operated between 2019 and 2023, resulted in the AV sector creating consistent employment for thousands, generating millions in direct spend in regional areas, and highlighted the potential viability of a sustainable audio-visual sector outside Dublin/Wicklow - in line with government policy.
WAVF insists the government cannot continue to ignore what is becoming a crisis in the industry in the west, and must support the proven track record of success this side of the Shannon by reinstating and expanding the scheme.
The vibrancy of the west of Ireland film and TV hub has been highlighted by international hit RTÉ/Hulu series Obituary. Filmed primarily in Donegal, its first season employed 140 crew, 11 trainees, 54 cast, 133 extras, and generated 3,900 accommodation nights. The series sold globally and brought significant foreign investment into the region with 50% of its finances coming from overseas. Season 2 sees BAFTA-nominated Máiréad Tyers joining the cast.
The latest west of Ireland productions include RTÉ’s award-winning documentary Ireland’s Wild Islands; upcoming features Four Letters of Love, starring Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter, and Gabriel Byrne; Cry from the Sea, starring Dominic Hooper; and recent successes That They May Face The Rising Sun, Fidil Ghorm, The Watched, Blackshore, My Sailor, My Love, Banshees of Inisherin, God’s Creatures, North Sea Connection, and Smother.
The wider benefits to the industry and region were highlighted by the WAVF budget submission: “At the height of the Section 481 Regional Uplift - at 5% in 2021 - it accounted for €124m of regional spend. It directly led to the employment of 1,941 crew, 369 cast, and 2,417 extras. Even in 2023, the final year of the Uplift, at a greatly reduced level of 2%, projects were delivering immense benefits regionally. In 2024, however, with the uplift having lapsed, Ireland’s regional film and television production sector is facing a critical juncture.”
WAVF is dismayed at the government’s short-sightedness in allowing the Uplift to lapse with no plans in place for a successor scheme.
The lapse of the Uplift has resulted in an immediate and concerning decline in the number of productions. In 2023, with eligible expenditure of €53.5 million, the value of the Uplift to companies dropped to just over €1m - a reduction of 86% from its peak. Since then, the West’s AV industry has declined to below pre-Uplift levels, with productions drifting back towards Dublin/Wicklow. This goes against stated government policy aims for more decentralised film production.
It also feeds into wider concerns that the western region is being increasingly left behind with Government focus primarily on Dublin and its surrounding counties.
Leas-Cheann Comhairle and Independent Galway West TD, Catherine Connolly, fully supports the call for a €10 million annual regional fund investment and believes the return would greatly exceed that investment.
She is calling on the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media to 'address the lack of strategy around regional screen production since the lapse of the Section 481 regional uplift; and asks if she will support a dedicated regional strategy as part of Budget 2025 to specifically address the development of the sector in the regions.'
MEASURES NEEDED
WAVF is demanding the reinstatement of a functioning, consistent, long-term Section 481 Regional Film Development Uplift, of at least 8% for a minimum of 10 years. This would stimulate regular regional production; provide long-term stability by maintaining a key crew base through consistent work outside Dublin/Wicklow; and reduce costs of shooting in the regions, making them more attractive to incoming productions.
WAVF is also calling for an interim, dedicated €10 million regional fund to sustain regional producers and writers; generate a pipeline of creative content; enhance regional production capabilities; and ensure geographic spread of production.
The forum calls on the government to develop regional clusters, through strategic investment, establishing these areas as centres of production, innovation and excellence, and support the government’s goal of balanced regional development.
Obituary producer Paddy Hayes (Magamedia) said: “It’s important where a producer wakes up in the morning. You have to not only develop, but sustain, these regional creative hubs and ecosystems with the right support to maintain the people that make the work.”