International co-production treaties — overview
A co-production treaty between Ireland and a partner country grants a qualifying production the legal status of a national production in both jurisdictions. The same project can access Irish Section 481 — the Irish scripted tax credit + Screen Ireland (Fís Éireann) funding and the partner country's national funding regime, broadcaster commissions, and any other instruments restricted to national productions.
Without a treaty in place, a production crossing the two jurisdictions is "international" in both — and excluded from each country's national funding instruments. Treaties are the legal mechanism that opens those instruments.
Ireland's treaty network
Ireland holds six bilateral treaties plus access to the multilateral European Convention:
| Partner / Convention | Signed | Updated | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland–Canada co-production treaty | 4 Feb 2016 | In force 1 July 2016 (replaced a 1989 agreement) | Film, TV, drama, animation, documentary |
| Ireland–Australia co-production treaty | 1989 | 1997 | Drama, animation, documentary |
| Ireland–Luxembourg co-production treaty | 2011 | — | Audiovisual co-production |
| Ireland–South Africa co-production treaty | 2012 | — | Film, TV, drama, animation, doc, digital |
| Ireland–New Zealand co-production treaty | 2007 | Ratified 2008 | Drama, animation, documentary |
| Ireland–France co-production treaty | December 2022 | — | Cinematographic co-production |
| European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production | 1 August 2000 (Ireland's accession) | 2017 revision (in force Sep 2019) | Multilateral, three-party+ theatrical |
What every treaty requires
The treaty texts vary in detail but share a common structure:
- Producers must be properly established in their respective countries with appropriate technical and financial resources
- Each party's contribution must be in reasonable proportion between financial and creative + technical contributions
- Participation bands — minimum and maximum financial percentages per party (varies by treaty — see each entry)
- Overall balance over time — the bilateral relationship should not be one-sided over a multi-year window
- Mutual recognition — once approved, the co-production has national status in both countries
The participation bands at a glance
The most operationally significant variable is the per-party financial contribution band:
| Treaty | Minimum % per party | Maximum % per party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland–Canada co-production treaty | 15% bilateral / 10% multipartite | none stated (85% in practice) | 7-of-8 key positions, listed per work type |
| Ireland–Australia co-production treaty | 20% bilateral / 10% trilateral | 80% | Screen Australia proportional points test, 15 points for drama |
| Ireland–Luxembourg co-production treaty | 20% | 80% | Proportionality, no points system |
| Ireland–South Africa co-production treaty | 20% (financial + effort) | 80% | Plus 90% footage by co-producers |
| Ireland–New Zealand co-production treaty | 20% | 80% | Points test with a 20% creative floor |
| Ireland–France co-production treaty | 10% | 90% | Wider band; proportionality, no points system |
| European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production (1992, ETS 147) | 10% multilateral | 70% | 15-of-19 Annex II points |
| European Convention revised (2017, CETS 220) | 10% bilateral / 5% multilateral | 90% bilateral / 80% multilateral | Fiction 16-of-21 · animation 15-of-23 · documentary ≥50% |
France's 10/90 band is no longer the only wide one. Ireland-Canada sits at 15/85, so a sharply imbalanced structure has two routes, not one. Below a 20% contribution, note that both European Conventions let the Party concerned reduce or bar access to its own national support schemes — the structure still qualifies, but the national funding on that leg may not.
How approval works
Each treaty is administered by a "competent authority" on each side. On the Irish side this is the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (DCCS) working with Screen Ireland (Fís Éireann) on the cultural and operational assessment. On the partner side it varies:
| Partner | Their competent authority |
|---|---|
| Canada | CAVCO (Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office) |
| Australia | Screen Australia |
| Luxembourg | Film Fund Luxembourg |
| South Africa | Department of Trade and Industry — Film Office |
| New Zealand | New Zealand Film Commission |
| France | Centre National du Cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC) |
| European Convention | Council of Europe + each contracting state's national authority |
A co-production needs provisional approval from both competent authorities before principal photography starts, and final certification after delivery confirming the financial split and creative contributions matched the approved structure.
Trilateral structures
Most bilateral treaties permit a trilateral structure where a third country joins. The test for the third party varies and is worth checking per treaty rather than assuming: Ireland-Canada requires only that the third State hold a treaty or MoU with at least one of the two Parties (Article 1), while several others do expect bilaterals with both.
The minimum band does not always relax for the third party either. Ireland-Canada drops to 10%, but UK-Canada and UK-New Zealand both hold their multipartite floor at the same 20% as the bilateral case.
The all-island producer's frequent pattern: Ireland-Canada plus the UK as the third party — UK qualifies via its own bilateral with Canada plus the European Convention with Ireland. Same logic for Ireland-Australia + UK.
See Cross-border productions — Ireland + Northern Ireland + UK for the all-island structuring detail.
Eurimages — the parallel mechanism
Eurimages is the Council of Europe's co-production support fund. It is not a co-production treaty; it is a funding instrument that supports treaty-eligible co-productions. Projects qualifying under the European Convention often also apply to Eurimages.
How Togra supports treaties
The Co-Production Structurer runs a full scorer per treaty — financial-band check, party-eligibility check, key-creative scoring (where applicable), trilateral third-party validation, proportionality check. Each scorer cites the actual treaty article and reports pass / partial / fail per clause. Treaty-scheme keys: ie_ca_2014, ie_au_1989, ie_lu_2011, ie_za_2012, ie_fr_2022, ie_nz_2008, plus coe_1992 for the European Convention.
Related
Sources
- · Screen Ireland International Co-Production page · screenireland.ie/filming/international-co-production
- · European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production (CoE 1992) and 2017 update