A political economy of tax expenditures for the audiovisual industries in Ireland: a cultural policy research perspective on section 481

This thesis interrogates the notion of a national cinema/national industry in contemporary times. It explores the concept of cultural/industrial policy towards the audiovisual industries in Ireland. It specifically focuses on Section 481, a measure that incentivises audiovisual production through the provision of a tax expenditure. This expenditure is a cornerstone of the audiovisual production industries, granting a generous 32 per cent tax relief on eligible spend. Consequently, it is now a significant part of the funding structures for various forms of audiovisual production, including national and international film and TV productions. Through a policy research approach, this thesis examines the complexity of funding national cultural production in an environment that is increasingly global/transnational, interrogating the notion of the commodification of the nation-space within the context of the supranational framework of the European Union (EU). Given Ireland’s EU membership, the design and operation of the expenditure are subject to State aid rules, which take into account both the cultural and industrial role of audiovisual production. This thesis takes a political economy approach to analyse the aims and objectives of Section 481, using the concept of spatialization (i.e. the commodification of space) from the political economy of communication theories of Vincent Mosco, developed from the writings of Henri Lefebvre. This approach enables critical analysis of the role of culture and by extension, cultural policy in both an Irish and an EU context. It is concluded that, problematically, Section 481 is usually explicitly framed (and evaluated) as an instrumentalised economic policy, in keeping with the shift to a creative industries discourse (from Nicholas Garnham) prevalent in Ireland. In addition, this thesis identifies underlying tensions, between cultural and economic/industrial rationales underpinning policy developments at both national and EU level, with the recognition that such tensions can be symbiotic and productive. It is contended that Section 481 should be framed and consequently evaluated, as both a cultural policy and an industrial policy