The Writers’ Guild of Ireland is “at a loss to understand” the Minister for Media’s lack of support for a mooted content levy on streaming services operating in Ireland, its chair has said.
In a letter addressed to the Minister, Patrick O’Donovan, Jennifer Davidson said the levy has “cross-party support” and she was “deeply disappointed” to hear his recent comments on the topic.
She warned that a failure to introduce the levy could usher in a future “where Ireland is used as a filming location and a source of crew, but where we are no longer able to develop original and world-class Irish stories”.
Mr O’Donovan on Tuesday secured Cabinet approval for proposals to require ministerial sign-off for any levy on television streaming services.
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Over the weekend he said people using streaming services such as Netflix are “paying enough” and he does not “see any reason to put a levy on them at the moment and charge them any more”.
A levy of this type was suggested by Ireland’s media and online content regulator, Coimisiún na Meán. Such levies are in place in some other European countries.
In her letter dated from Monday, Ms Davidson said the writers’ guild and its fellow industry stakeholders have been working “for a number of years” on detailed proposals outlining the need for a content levy. The guild represents more than 600 writers, she said.
“Irish audiences pay somewhere near €600 million a year to Pay TV and SVOD services like Sky, Netflix and Disney ... Meanwhile, they contribute little to the development and production of original Irish stories on screen," she said.
More than 60 per cent of the guild’s members earned less than €24,000 in 2024 for their writing, according to her letter.
Ms Davidson said the levy would mean streamers such as Netflix “would have a financial incentive to invest in Irish stories written and created by Irish talent”.
“The content levy was never intended to be a tax on consumers. The levy is a tax on the profits of these streamers,” she said.
The guild has requested a meeting with the Minister to further discuss the proposed levy and its implications.
