08/12/2011

The capital budget for the Irish Film Board (IFB) has been reduced to €13.15 million for 2012, compared to €16 million in 2011. Despite this, the body has revealed ambitious plans for the year ahead.

IFB Chairman James Morris said, “The Irish Film Board is deeply committed to ensuring that the Irish film, television and animation industries continue to make a significant creative and economic contribution to the Irish economy, delivering a strong return to the exchequer and continuing to create new jobs.

Despite the cut in overall funding that the agency has received due to the difficult overall circumstances of the Irish economy, the IFB will continue to work even harder to ensure growth in the audiovisual sector, investing in Irish production companies to deliver high levels of production activity for 2012. The agency remains committed to delivering the targets set out as part of the Creative Capital report on the audiovisual industry, launched earlier this year, which aims to double the turnover of the sector to €1 billion per annum and to create 5000 new high quality jobs over the next five years.

High levels of production activity in the film, television and animation industry bring a number of benefits of the Irish economy, in terms of raising international investment in Irish film and television projects, which is spent on local jobs, goods and services all over Ireland. Irish film and television also promotes Ireland as an international tourist location with 20% of visitors to Ireland quoting film and television as their reason for coming, according to Failte Ireland figures.”