Animation Ireland, the business group representing Irish animation studios, has today (Sunday, August 28) called on the Government to extend the crucial Section 481 tax relief beyond 2024 so that world class film and television can continue to be produced in Ireland.
The Section 481 tax relief has been crucial in the growth of the Irish animation sector to become a leading global hub for animation production and a major force in the Irish economy, employing 2,500 people across 42 studios.
“Section 481 has been crucial in the growth of the animation sector over the past 10 years and without it, we just couldn’t compete on the global stage as we do now,” commented Ronan McCabe, CEO of Animation Ireland. “The relief brings a huge number of jobs and expenditure into Ireland, but it also has an enormous positive impact on creativity and culture. Without Section 481, we might not have seen amazing Irish productions telling irish stories, such as the Oscar-nominated Wolfwalkers.’’
“We hope that the Minister for Finance will announce a five year extension of the relief up to 2029 and confirm that Section 481 is included as part of its long term policy for creative industries,” McCabe added. “We would also like to see an extension of the regional uplift element of the relief, which will see more productions take place outside of Dublin and make it easier for studies to attract staff, generating employment in rural towns.”
Over the last number of years, Ireland has been home to some major productions such as The Bob’s Burgers Movie, The Cuphead Show, Vampirina and Zog & The Flying Doctors. It is not only international stories that are told by Irish studios. Section 481 also supports irish productions, with recent examples including Wolfwalkers, Two by Two: Overboard!, Jessy and Nessy, Kiva Can Do! and Pins and Nettie.
Read Animation Ireland’s pre-Budget submission for 2023 here.
Animation Ireland is the representative body for the animation industry on the island of Ireland, with 42 member studios employing over 2,500 people full time. Members are producing animated television programs, feature films and Immersive content which is viewed in over 180 territories worldwide.
