Screen industry boosts Irish economy by €1bn amid ‘drastic’ global change

Economic analysis commissioned by Screen Ireland finds sector directly supports equivalent of 10,000 jobs amid annual fluctuations and skills gaps

Jodie Comer in Ridley Scott's The Last Duel, one of the major film productions to boost audiovisual activity in Ireland in 2021. Photograph: Patrick Redmond/20th Century Studios
Jodie Comer in Ridley Scott's The Last Duel, one of the major film productions to boost audiovisual activity in Ireland in 2021. Photograph: Patrick Redmond/20th Century Studios

The audiovisual industry boosts the Irish economy by more than €1 billion annually and directly supports the equivalent of about 10,000 jobs, but “drastic” changes are reshaping the industry, a new report has found.

The economic analysis, commissioned by Screen Ireland, cited a shift by consumers to video-on-demand and intensifying global competition as two of the factors that have contributed to recent volatility in a business that sees production activity in Ireland fluctuate from year to year.

On average between 2021 and 2023, the sector supported 10,450 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs directly, or 15,899 FTEs if indirect and induced effects, such as supply chain impacts and the spending of wages, are included, according to the report by Alma Economics.

The sector generated an average of €594.8 million in annual direct labour compensation and €862 million in annual total labour compensation during this period, it said.

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It also found that it contributed €522.6 million in direct gross value added (GVA) and had a total economic footprint, including ripple effects, of €1,061.4 million GVA annually.

The report is published by Screen Ireland, the State development agency for the screen sector, on a day when the Irish industry is hoping to garner further international recognition when the Oscar nominations are announced at lunchtime.

This will most likely come from Rich Peppiatt’s film Kneecap, which has been tipped to replicate the 2023 success of An Cailín Ciúin and convert its shortlisting in the best international feature category into a nomination.

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Screen Ireland will today also announce details of the upcoming slate of productions supported by funding from the agency and set out its strategic plan for the 2025-2029 period.

The economic analysis highlights “fluctuations” in film production from 2021 to 2023, noting that this was a period of post-pandemic rebound globally followed by a pullback in spending and decline in 2023 linked to industry-wide disruptions such as the US writers’ and actors’ strikes.

But it also said that some fluctuations in the Irish sector “cannot be entirely explained by macroeconomic or global industry shocks” and that in smaller markets, production spend can “vary significantly” year to year.

Film production alone supported 2,625 jobs on a full-time equivalent basis in 2021, with activity boosted by major productions such as The Banshees of Inisherin, Disenchanted and The Last Duel.

The Banshees of Inisherin film review: An impeccable cast eats up the succulent dialogueOpens in new window ]

However, this plummeted to 1,737 jobs in 2022 and 1,515 in 2023 amid a decline in large-scale productions, fewer new projects taking advantage of the Section 481 screen tax credit and the impact of the strikes.

The Irish audiovisual sector has “a well-qualified, rapidly growing workforce” that extends to below-the-line technical expertise on live action production as well as a digital production crew base, particularly in animation, visual effects (VFX) and digital games, the Alma Economics report noted.

But despite well-regarded training and skills development initiatives by Screen Ireland and the agency-funded National Talent and Crew Academies, the research “revealed some gaps and limitations” in the Irish workforce, with a shortage of skilled senior personnel in some areas.

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Skills gaps were identified among key head-of-department roles as well as functions such as editing and production accounting. It also referenced a need for increased skills development opportunities in the regions, beyond the traditional Dublin-Wicklow industry hub.

Although the report is focused on a financial analysis of the sector and an assessment of skills, it notes that the audiovisual sector makes “a vast cultural contribution” that extends “far beyond” the economic benefits.

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Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery is an Irish Times journalist writing about media, advertising and other business topics