Brexit and the Irish screen industry

The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020 and the Brexit transition period concluded on 31 December 2020. The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) took effect from 1 January 2021. Brexit has specific implications for Irish screen producers — particularly on state-aid cumulation, co-production treatment, equipment movement, and personnel movement.

The Northern Ireland position is a partial special case: certain EU rules continue to apply in NI under the Protocol / Windsor Framework arrangements.

State aid — the critical Brexit shift

The UK is no longer bound by the EU State Aid regime, save for specific exceptions in Northern Ireland (per Screen Ireland Brexit FAQ).

Two consequences for Irish producers:

1. AVEC (and other UK public funding) does NOT count as state aid for Irish S481 / S487A cumulation purposes. The UK is not an EU Member State. The Cinema Communication framework that caps Irish credit cumulation at 50% aggregates Member State public support — UK funding is outside that calculation. See State Aid — the EU cumulation cap and its mitigations and AVEC — UK Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit.

1. The 60% cross-border allowance under the EU Cinema Communication applies only where more than one EU Member State funds the production. Ireland + UK does not qualify for the 60% allowance because the UK is not a Member State. Ireland + France + UK still gets the 60% on the basis of Ireland + France being two Member States, but the UK contribution doesn't elevate the cap.

The TCA itself reinforces this position. Per the Screen Ireland FAQ:

The TCA states that the Chapter on Subsidy Control does not apply to subsidies related to the audio-visual sector.

So neither the EU bilateral subsidy-control framework nor the TCA's subsidy-control discipline reaches UK or Irish audio-visual subsidies. Both jurisdictions are essentially free to design their own AV incentive schemes without TCA interference.

European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production

The Convention is a Council of Europe instrument, not an EU instrument. The UK remains a party to the Convention post-Brexit. Irish + UK official co-productions can therefore still be structured under the Convention's framework.

However, UK nationals are no longer counted as European Economic Area (EEA) nationals. Bilateral co-production agreements that previously counted UK nationals as EEA in personnel-counting tests may need to be reworked. The Ireland / Canada bilateral is flagged in the Screen Ireland FAQ as one that may be affected.

European Works status

Works originating in the UK continue to qualify as European Works under the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). The AVMSD recognises works originating in any state party to the Council of Europe's European Convention on Transfrontier Television — the UK remains a party — so UK works are still European Works for the purposes of European quotas on streaming + broadcast platforms.

Common Travel Area (CTA)

The CTA between Ireland and the UK predates EU membership and is unaffected by Brexit. Irish and British citizens can move freely between, and live in, either country with full associated rights including access to healthcare, education, social benefits and the right to vote in certain elections.

Practical consequences for productions:

• Irish ↔ UK crew movement is unaffected. British citizens can work in Ireland (including self-employed) without an employment permit. Irish citizens move freely to / from the UK.
• EU nationals (non-Irish) moving to the UK for production must apply for a UK Tier 5 (Creative and Sporting) visa. Previously this regime applied only to non-EEA nationals.
• Long-term UK immigration is now points-based for both EEA and non-EEA nationals.
• Non-EEA nationals moving to Ireland continue to be subject to Irish employment-permit requirements.

Equipment movement — ATA Carnets

The TCA exempts the temporary admission of cinematographic equipment from import duties and taxes, without quantitative restrictions. The practical mechanism is the ATA Carnet scheme. The Dublin Chamber of Commerce is the national issuing and guaranteeing association in Ireland under the ATA Carnet scheme.

Audio-visual services and digital trade

In line with other EU trade deals, audio-visual services are excluded from the sections on services and investment and on digital trade in the TCA.

The audio-visual "cultural exception" is preserved in the TCA. AV services are not subject to the TCA's services, investment and digital-trade liberalisation chapters.

Data protection

The EU granted UK data adequacy under GDPR (June 2021) following the TCA. Personal data transfers EU → UK continue to flow without additional safeguards. The position should be verified periodically — adequacy decisions are reviewed.

Northern Ireland specifically

NI's position under the Protocol / Windsor Framework is partially exceptional. Some EU state-aid rules continue to apply to NI activities. However, the TCA's exemption of audio-visual subsidies from the Subsidy Control chapter applies UK-wide, so the NI special status doesn't bring AV subsidies (AVEC, NI Screen Fund) back into the Irish state-aid cumulation calculation.

Tariffs

Zero tariffs and zero quotas under the TCA for goods complying with rules of origin. Rules of origin determine the origin of goods for preferential tariff treatment.

In Togra

Togra serves the all-island Irish screen industry — see Niall's project-memory rule on Togra all-island scope. The state-aid cumulation panel on a project carrying both Irish and UK funding aggregates only the Irish + EU side; UK funding is shown alongside but excluded from the 50% calculation.