Ireland Film Commission: National and Regional Guide
A practical breakdown of Screen Ireland, the county film offices, and how to secure a filming permit for your Irish shoot.
Ireland film commission is the phrase international producers search for, but no single office matches it. The system splits between a national screen agency that funds and supports productions, a network of county and regional film offices that know their own patch, and the individual authorities, the local council and the Office of Public Works, that actually grant permission to film at a given location, with the Irish Aviation Authority regulating drone flight separately. Knowing which of these to approach, and in what order, is what separates a smooth Irish shoot from a stalled one. This guide sets out who does what, how a film permit application actually moves through the system, and where a fixer fits into that sequence.
As Fixers in Ireland, we bring local expertise to international productions filming in Ireland. Our team's deep knowledge of local regulations, crew networks, and production infrastructure ensures your project runs smoothly from pre-production through delivery.
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Ireland Film Commission: Screen Ireland's Role
The national screen agency, not a permitting office
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland is Ireland's national screen agency, the creative partner to the film, television drama, animation, documentary, VFX and games sectors. It is funded by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport but runs its day-to-day operations independently of it. No official Screen Ireland page brands the agency a film commission or uses that phrase for itself; the closest equivalent to a commission function is its Inward Production team, which gives incoming productions on-the-ground logistical support and advice, and its network of local film offices covering the country. Screen Ireland is the national screen agency; its own guidance directs productions to the relevant local authority or other controlling authority for filming licences.
- Investment loans for the development, production and distribution of film, television and animation projects
- A Scouting Support Fund to help scripted feature films and television series with location scouting in Ireland
- Approval of the Skills Development Plan for projects with eligible expenditure over €2 million
- Referral to the relevant local authority or controlling body for filming licences, rather than issuing permits itself
What Screen Ireland Does Not Do
Screen Ireland does not present itself as a permitting body: its own guidance sends productions to the relevant local authority, or whichever authority controls the space, for filming licences, and tells them that private property filming needs the owner's permission. It also does not administer Section 481, Ireland's film and television tax credit; that sits with the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and with Revenue, which makes the payment.
Section 481: Administered Elsewhere
Section 481 is 32% of whichever is lowest of eligible expenditure, 80% of total qualifying film production costs, or €125 million, with minimum thresholds of €125,000 in eligible spend and €250,000 in total production cost. The claim is made by a qualifying producer company that is Irish resident or trading through a branch or agency, not by the foreign production directly, and the process starts with a cultural certificate application submitted at least 21 working days before production begins in Ireland, followed by the claim to Revenue. The credit is available for projects certified up to 31 December 2028. Screen Ireland's role in the process is approving the Skills Development Plan on projects with eligible expenditure above €2 million.
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Regional and County Film Offices
Local knowledge, local contacts
Screen Ireland describes a free local film office service available in every county, offering local knowledge, location advice and assistance, but it publishes no count of offices and Dublin alone is split across four council areas. The five regional bodies below are the ones with the clearest, verifiable remit for an incoming production.
Screen Wicklow
Screen Wicklow is a division of Wicklow County Council and the single point of contact for filming enquiries in the county, covering locations, access and permissions, crew advice, recces and logistics. It runs a formal county permit system, with Bray Municipal District using its own form, and asks for public liability insurance of at least €6.5 million and employers' liability of at least €13 million before authorizing a shoot. Road closure applications need at least eight weeks' notice with a Traffic Management Plan.
Film in Limerick
Film in Limerick is a project of Innovate Limerick serving Limerick and the Mid-West as an information hub covering locations, cast and crew, and a database of production resources and companies. It does not issue permits and licenses itself, but connects productions to the right department at Limerick City and County Council. Film in Limerick says you do not necessarily need a permit to film on the streets of Limerick, though it asks to be told where and when you are filming; street closures and traffic control need the appropriate permit or licence.
Film in Cork
Film in Cork was established by Cork County Council in partnership with Cork City Council to market Cork as a production location and to provide location services and on-call support to productions filming in the region.
Screen West / Galway County Council
Screen West is managed by Ardán and supported by Galway County Council as an information resource covering talent, companies, locations, permissions and funding for the Galway audiovisual sector. Permits for public locations in County Galway are issued by Galway County Council, which forwards requests to the relevant Municipal District, charges a €65 administration fee per location, and requires public liability insurance of at least €6.5 million.
Clare Arts Office
Clare Arts Office is Clare County Council's contact point for all filming in the county, part of Screen Ireland's network of local film offices, and it routes productions to the right council departments for permissions. It also works alongside Film in Limerick, Screen Ireland and the WRAP Fund, a regional investment fund for the western region.
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How to Get a Film Permit in Ireland
Production licensing runs through the local authority, not a national office
Filming permission in Ireland is granted locally rather than through a single national permit. Permission depends on where you want to film: the relevant local authority for public streets and spaces, the Office of Public Works for its heritage sites and parks, Waterways Ireland as the governing body for inland navigable waterways such as canals, rivers and lakes, and the Irish Aviation Authority as the national regulator for civil drones, with operator registration required for drones over 250g or with a camera and an Operational Authorisation for flights outside the limits of the open category. The general rule is straightforward: public locations need a licence from the local authority or whichever body controls that space, private property needs the owner's consent, and everyone likely to be affected by filming should be told in advance. Road closures need a Traffic Management Plan and, nationally, at least four to five weeks' notice, though individual authorities set their own figures.
- Identify the controlling authority for your location: the city or county council for public streets and spaces, the OPW for a heritage site, Waterways Ireland for a canal, river or lake, or the property owner for private land.
- Contact that authority, directly or through your fixer, well ahead of your shoot date; filing windows are deadlines for lodging an application, not promises of a decision by a given date.
- Prepare the document package the authority asks for; Dublin City Council, for example, requires a filming application form, risk assessment, company safety statement, insurance with a specific indemnity, and where applicable a production schedule and site or reinstatement plan.
- Notify affected residents and businesses in writing, using wording the authority approves in advance where that is required.
- Inform An Garda Síochána of exterior filming in a public place, as Screen Ireland recommends, and note that the Dublin City Film Office calls Garda contact essential where firearms, staged crimes or fake emergency vehicles or uniforms feature.
- Pay any permit fee before the permit is issued; in Dublin, late applications, if accepted at all, cost double the relevant application fee.
Film Permit Application: The Dublin Example
Dublin City Council's Film Office issues permits for filming in the public domain and on council-owned land within its own administrative area, though a decision notice does not cover Grand Canal Square, Henrietta Street or council-owned parkland, and does not permit filming outside Department of Justice or Defence properties, embassies, consulates or airports, and parks and green spaces are a separate permit category; the three other Dublin local authorities, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin, are separate. Filming on private property does not require council consent. The council's own pages give differing lead times depending on which document you read, so treat these as filing deadlines rather than decision times: applications are generally due between 5 and 21 working days ahead depending on production size, and road closure applications need 5 to 6 weeks. Fees apply from 1 April 2024, excluding VAT, and vary by permit category: for TV or feature productions, fees run from €100 for the first day plus €20 for each additional day, capped at €300 per project, under €500,000, up to €1,000 for the first day plus €500 for each additional day, with no cap, above €4 million; commercials, parks and interior locations are priced separately. Payment is required before the permit is issued. Required documents include a risk assessment, a company safety statement, public liability insurance of at least €6.5 million naming the council, and a residents' notification letter approved by the council in advance, typically sent at least two weeks before filming starts. The council can terminate a permit if agreed terms are not followed.
Outside Dublin
Away from Dublin, the pattern repeats at county level with local variation. Wicklow runs its own formal permit system with insurance and lead-time rules of its own, Galway County Council charges a €65 administration fee per location, and Limerick's local film office explicitly does not issue permits but directs you to the council department that does. Dublin, Wicklow and Galway County all require public liability insurance; Dublin and Wicklow both publish advance-notice periods for road closures, and Screen Ireland's national guidance and Wicklow's own rules require a Traffic Management Plan with a road closure application.
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How a Fixer Works with Ireland's Film Commissions
One point of contact across a fragmented system
Official guidance from Screen Ireland and the regional film offices consistently recommends two things for an incoming production: working with an established Irish production company, since the credit can be claimed only by a qualifying producer company that meets Revenue's conditions, and engaging a professional location manager to handle permits and liaise with An Garda Síochána. Screen Ireland's own network carries testimonials describing exactly this kind of on-the-ground assistance with access and permits. This is the role a fixer occupies: the person who runs the sequence of contacts, from the national screen agency through the relevant regional film office to the authority that actually grants permission, so you are not learning the system for the first time under deadline.
- Identifying and contacting the right local film office or council department for each location on your schedule
- Assembling and submitting the permit application package: risk assessment, safety statement, insurance documentation, and site plans
- Drafting and clearing resident and business notification letters with the relevant authority
- Coordinating An Garda Síochána notification for public filming and arranging Garda attendance where firearms, replica weapons or staged incidents are involved
- Managing OPW applications for heritage locations, including the notice period, and flagging that drones are prohibited at all OPW heritage sites
- Handling IAA drone operator registration and airspace considerations alongside a Dublin City Council take-off and landing approval where council land is used
- Working alongside your Irish production company on the Section 481 cultural certificate timeline, without acting as that certifying producer company itself
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Common Questions
Do I need to contact the film commission directly or through a fixer?
You can contact Screen Ireland's Inward Production team or a regional film office directly, and several, including Screen Wicklow and Film in Limerick, exist precisely to take enquiries from incoming productions. In practice, official guidance recommends working through an established Irish production company and a professional location manager for the permit and Garda liaison work itself, which is the role a fixer fills on your behalf.
How long does permit approval typically take?
None of the authorities' pages gives a decision time for a filming permit. The closest published figure is the Office of Public Works' acknowledgement, which issues within 3 to 4 working days and is not stated to be a decision. What the authorities publish instead are filing deadlines: Dublin City Council asks for applications 5 to 21 working days ahead depending on production size, and 5 to 6 weeks for road closures; the Office of Public Works asks for at least two weeks' notice, four weeks for medium or large productions; Wicklow asks for at least eight weeks' notice for road closures, and other counties set their own requirements. Build in the longest of these for your locations and confirm current figures with the authority itself.
What spend qualifies for commission support or rebates?
Screen Ireland's own funding, its investment loans and its Scouting Support Fund, sits apart from Ireland's tax credit. Section 481 requires a minimum of €125,000 in eligible Irish expenditure and €250,000 in total production cost, and its standard rate is 32% of whichever is lowest of eligible expenditure, 80% of total qualifying production costs, or €125 million. An enhanced 40% rate may apply to a feature film or feature-length animation with qualifying expenditure under €20 million, certified on or after 20 May 2025, where a key creative role is held by an EEA national or resident and the film is intended for theatrical release. A separate enhanced 40% rate may apply, for films certified on or after 16 July 2026, to productions with at least €1 million in eligible visual effects expenditure, on up to €10 million of eligible expenditure; a Skills Development Plan also needs Screen Ireland's approval once eligible expenditure passes €2 million. The credit itself is administered by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and Revenue, not by Screen Ireland.
Which authority actually grants permission to film at a location?
It depends on the location. A city or county council grants permits for public streets and spaces in its own area, such as Dublin City Council for its administrative area or Galway County Council for the rest of the county. The Office of Public Works grants written permission for its heritage sites, Waterways Ireland governs inland canals, rivers and lakes, and the Irish Aviation Authority is the national regulator for civil drones: operators of drones over 250g or with a camera must register, and flights outside the limits of the open category need an Operational Authorisation. Private property always requires the owner's own consent.
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Plan Your Irish Shoot with a Local Fixer
We handle the sequence for you: the right regional film office, the permit paperwork each authority expects, the Garda and OPW notifications, and the local insurance requirements, so your production arrives in Ireland ready to shoot rather than ready to apply. Contact Fixers in Ireland to discuss your next project.