Written by on Jul 11, 2011. Posted in Incentive News

Ireland and Luxembourg sign filming co-production deal

A filming agreement has been signed between Ireland and Luxembourg that will enable official co-productions to access resources and financial incentives in each respective country. The signing took place over the weekend at the Galway Film Fleadh, a six-day film festival.

Jimmy Deeihan, Ireland Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking regions of the country), said: “Co-production is of vital importance to the financing of the majority of Irish films and television production in Ireland, as well as to the overall growth of the industry.

Co-production is of vital importance to the financing of the majority of Irish films and television production in Ireland, as well as to the overall growth of the industry.

Jimmy Deeihan, Ireland Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

“For a country the size of Ireland there is no better way in which to raise international investment for projects of scale and it is fundamental to the way the industry is structured. Ireland is a small territory and it is impossible to finance in this market alone.”

François Biltgen, Luxembourg Minister for Communications and Media said: “Sixteen years of bilateral collaboration and friendship have been the runway for signing this treaty, which will hopefully bring long-lasting partnership between our two countries.”

Ireland currently offers a tax benefit, net of all fees, of up to 28% of eligible Irish expenditure for films and TV programmes in what’s known as Section 481. Earlier this year the scheme was extended through to the end of 2015. Luxemburg has two different support mechanisms already in place for co-productions, as well as several official co-production treaties.