A proposal to put a 10p levy on a rented video and a 25p levy on a cinema ticket to fund Irish filmmaking is being considered by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands.
The levy would generate about £5 million a year. The proposed 5 per cent charge, which would also extend to video sales, is just one of a number of recommendations in the final report of the Film Industry Strategic Review Group, which was presented to Ms de Valera yesterday.
The report provides a blueprint for developing the film and television industry for the next 10 years and says the sector can expand fourfold. The output value of the sector could grow from £123 million to more than £500 million by 2010, it says.
Growth of the film and television industry must become a central element of Irish industrial development policy, the group concludes.
One of the report's key recommendations is the necessity for a Government commitment to keeping Section 481 tax incentives for film-making for at least seven years.
The group recommends that Section 481 of the Finance Act must continue as the main incentive to the industry.
A seven-year commitment to the tax break would send out a powerful signal that the Government was committed to the long-term development of the industry in Ireland.
Uncertainty about the future of the tax breaks was blamed by the industry for contributing to a downturn in film-making activity in Ireland this year.
They were renewed for just 12 months in January by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, pending the publication of yesterday's report.
Industry members were last night anxious for the recommendations to be implemented quickly and for an early indication that the tax incentives would be extended, in order to restore the confidence of investors.
Ms de Valera confirmed after the launch that she had always favoured the Section 481 tax breaks, but declined to say when she planned to bring her proposals to Cabinet.
"I have always felt that that 481 has been important to the growth of the film industry in Ireland, but my interest is not only in the tax area, but also in other areas to build the industry," she said.
The group recommends a major shake-up of the Irish Film Board, which must be strengthened and restructured.
The reinforcement of a well-structured and adequately financed development agency for the film industry was needed.
"Effective implementation requires that this agency has the necessary power, influence and resources to take timely, effective and decisive action," the report says.
To support the development of the Film Board, it recommends its budget should be increased to £9.5 million over the next two years. The £5 million generated from the levy on cinema tickets and video rentals and sales would go directly to the board.
The Minister will take public comments on the report up to the end of August before finalising her proposals for Cabinet.
Film Makers Ireland, which represents 153 Irish production companies, welcomed the report, noting that the recommendations taken as a whole would underpin the growth of the sector.
Screen Commission of Ireland's chief executive, Mr Roger Greene, warned that until some or all of the measures were implemented by the Government and relevant bodies, the report would remain largely academic. The recommendation to extend the Section 481 incentives for at least another seven years represented a corrective step in the right direction, Mr Greene said.
"But it must be heeded and acted upon immediately by the Minister for Finance if we are to reverse the current negative position and the production forecast for next year," He said.