SCREEN IRELAND HAS announced plans to invest €3 million in Ireland’s tv and film industry in an effort to address a growing demand for talent and crews.

The agency is announcing the stimulus measure as part of its new strategy for the next three years to drive “sustainable growth” in the Irish film industry.

Despite the challenges and production shutdowns faced by the industry over the course of the pandemic, Screen Ireland says 2021 is shaping up to “break production activity records”.

In the first six months of this year, the agency estimates the industry made a €289 million economic contribution to the Irish economy, putting it on track to beat the previous annual production contribution high of €357 million in 2019.

This level of activity is creating a huge demand for crew in the sector, as well as supporting some 12,000 jobs in areas such as production, lighting, set design, acting, directing, writing, special effects and more.

“Reaching record levels of production activity in Ireland this year is a remarkable achievement and demonstrates the creative screen industry’s commitment, dedication, and resilience. To achieve sustainable growth, a supportive policy environment and targeted funding initiatives will be required,” CEO of Fís Éireann /Screen Ireland, Desiree Finnegan, said.

“Continuing to invest in Irish creative talent and expanding the highly-skilled crew base through innovative skills development programmes will deliver a significant cultural benefit for Irish and international audiences.”

In the Building for a Creative Future 2024 strategy, Screen Ireland has set out a number of targeted initiatives to ensure the growth seen this year continues.

Some of the initiatives for skill and talent development include:

• The setting up of three new regional ‘crew hubs’ across the country to target a national approach to crew development
• Two ‘Screen Ireland National Talent Academies for Film and TV Drama and Animation’ to build talent and skills regionally
• A scheme to enable new entrants to gain paid work experience opportunities on film and television productions
• A platform called ‘Where to Watch’ to help audiences all over the world to discover Irish productions
• A Creative Futures Fund (CFF) to build additional development capabilities and to support high-quality creative projects
• And a new support fund for Irish distribution companies designed to help offset the challenges that have been created by Covid-19

“The global environment in which the Irish creative screen industry operates has become very competitive in the race for talent, well-written stories, production hubs, studios and tax incentives,” said Chair of the Screen Ireland Board, Susan Bergin. 

In parallel with these fiscal incentives, we need to be creative and innovative in how we approach the future – building resilience into the sector and ensuring that we are in a position to compete for the best international productions while also identifying, nurturing and empowering local talent and productions.

“We believe that Strategic Plan 2024 has the right ambition, focus areas and initiatives to ensure that the creative screen industry will continue to develop in the years ahead.”