Almost a month ago I received the following email -
A protest of taxpaying film workers will be held on Thursday 26th May at the offices of Samson Films who have benefited to the tune of almost €3m this year and have not created one quality job in the film industry in contravention of the Film Regulations.
The protest will then move to the offices of the Irish Film Board at Lord Edward Street. The Irish Film Board is, we believe, the last surviving "quango" of the Fianna Fail, Anglo Irish Bank, Galway Tent brigade and their latest stated aims to "actively pursue" foreign co-production investment in Irish films means the bells are tolling for film jobs in Ireland, as it is there are currently approx 40 crew working in this country since 3 weeks ago, not a single crew member worked in film since mid December.
The Film Regulations, SI 357 clearly lay out the conditions for the application of Section 481 Relief. These conditions have not been met on a single film todate and as the Irish Film Board is peopled by industry professionals and lacks balance or indeed transparency film crews who are Irish taxpayers have been left with no alternative but to try to tackle this situation by means of peaceful protest and political lobbying.
I replied with some questions to try to establish exactly what was being alleged:
1. You say Samson Films have "benefited to the tune of almost €3m this year and have not created one quality job in the film industry in contravention of the Film Regulations". Could you expand on this? Is the amount entirely comprised of S481 funds, and for what particular project(s)? And, how do you believe the company has breached the regulations?
2. When you refer to those crew members who may now be working but have not worked in film since mid-December, are you referring to every category of crew and technician or is it an issue only for craft union workers?
3. In respect of SI 357/2008 and the regulations applying to Section 481 Film Relief, what evidence have you for your contention that "these conditions have not been met on a single film to date"?
4. If you have any other factual info to support your campaign I'd be glad to hear it.
I didn't get a reply although I have since been sent a set of photographs of the picketing in Irishtown and Dublin city centre.
I do not know if there is a legitimate basis for this protest. It could be that the eligible spend on particular projects is actually being delivered in the post-production phase. It may be that the protesting workers are not aware, for instance, that workers from other Member States of the EU share the right to work on Irish productions and their wages are considered eligible spend under the S481 regulations. But who knows, unless the facts are out in the open.
What is something of a paradox, however, is the possibility that eligible spend on wages (and any possible tax return to the Exchequer) could legitimately be taken out of our economy by the people who earn it. It would be useful to know to what extent this is occuring on Irish productions and the effect, if any, that it might have on the cost/benefit analysis of public funding which is undertaken each year.
So, the facts and the money trail, if you please!
Friday, June 17, 2011
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3 comments:
I was not at that demonstration but kudos to the people who organized it. We are all afraid of raising our heads incase we never work again. They contacted you a month ago. From what I here some hack now has the exclusive rights to this story and they will probably do more harm than good to the industry. Especially if they are one of the English based tabloids. Since January there has been two productions done both without an Irish DOP. Two more coproductions coming up with more of the same. While our talented people seek work abroad. This is the reality of the Irish Film Industry.
But the facts seem completely absurd "as it is there are currently approx 40 crew working in this country since 3 weeks ago, not a single crew member worked in film since mid December" - that's a ridiculous statement. And accusing Samson of having "not created one quality job in the film industry in contravention of the Film Regulations" - how is that true? Are they referring to standbys, or a particular department? It would appear to mean across all depts and if so then it's highly inaccurate. Does anyone have a more detailed explanation for what the issue actually is?
Co-productions are a tricky business and policy-wise there ought to be a completely transparent accounting for money spent and actual local employment, by which I mean earnings that are spent and taxed in the Irish economy.
It is possible with co-productions that what we gain on the swings we lose on the roundabouts. I also suspect that the spate of co-productions over the last 2-3 years has been geared to bolster the post-production sector. So the bulk of the Irish budget contribution (IFB+/S481) may have gone towards post-production spend. If this was a policy decision then there was no open debate about it or the possible consequences.
Anonymous 2, I have to agree with you. The protestors' allegations do not add up. There is a sense of general grievance which may have some justification but may also have something to do with outmoded work practices that many other film workers may be glad to see the back of.
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