Watch the credits on a big-budget fantasy or sci-fi series and you will usually find a long list of visual effects houses. Some are in London. Some are in Montreal or Wellington.
Ireland wants more of that work to be done at home.
In July, the Irish government brought in a new 40 per cent tax credit for visual effects work, designed to make the country more competitive with established production hubs such as the UK, France, Canada and New Zealand.
How the new credit works
The change is an enhancement to Section 481, Ireland’s long-standing film and television tax credit, which normally provides a 32 per cent credit on eligible spending in Ireland.
Under the new rules, a qualifying production must spend at least €1 million on relevant VFX work in Ireland.
Once that threshold is met, the enhanced 40 per cent rate can apply to the first €10 million of eligible expenditure on the production, with the standard 32 per cent rate applying above that level.
Productions still need a cultural certificate from the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and must meet the existing Section 481 conditions.
The measure was announced in Budget 2026, approved by the European Commission on 30 April and came into operation on 16 July 2026.
Aimed squarely at the competition
Screen Ireland has been open about the purpose of the change.
The agency said the enhanced rate would allow Ireland to compete more effectively with countries including the UK, France, New Zealand and Canada, which already offer targeted incentives for effects-heavy productions.
The UK moved first.
Its enhanced VFX relief was announced in the Spring Budget 2024 and took effect from April 2025. Qualifying UK VFX expenditure receives an enhanced 39 per cent Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit and is exempt from the scheme’s usual 80 per cent cap.
The two systems are structured differently, so comparing the headline percentages alone does not tell the full story.
But for producers deciding where to place a significant block of effects work, Ireland has clearly narrowed the gap.
Irish effects are already on screen
This is not a new industry starting from nothing.
Irish VFX and post-production companies have worked on productions including Marvel Studios’ WandaVision and Spider-Man: No Way Home, as well as FX’s Shōgun.
Dublin’s Screen Scene, which is celebrating more than four decades in business, says it was the first company to use Section 481 for post-production and VFX, on the first season of Game of Thrones.
Its chief executive, Jake Walshe, who also chairs industry body VFX Ireland, has described the enhanced credit as a major change in Ireland’s competitive position.
Screen Ireland chief executive Désirée Finnegan has similarly said the measure strengthens Ireland’s position as a hub for visual effects and post-production work.
The infrastructure is therefore already there.
The policy is designed to give international productions a stronger financial reason to use it.
Why it matters on this side of the Irish Sea
For British viewers, the effect will mostly be invisible.
A dragon rendered in Dublin looks the same on screen as one rendered in Soho.
Offering his perspective on the growing role of Irish studios in international productions, Simon Winter, author at Casino.com Ireland, highlighted how closely Irish audiences follow British genre television. He also suggested that seeing Irish studios credited on major series holds particular significance at home, even if viewers elsewhere remain unaware of where the visual effects were produced.
That pride has been visible in how the Irish industry talks about its credits.
The bigger question is commercial.
Effects-heavy genre shows are exactly the kind of productions that can divide work between countries as producers try to make budgets stretch further.
A meaningful difference in incentives can influence where large teams spend months carrying out effects work.
That makes VFX unusually mobile.
The shoot may happen in one country, while creatures, environments and entire sequences are created somewhere else.
Ireland is trying to make sure more of that second part happens there.
What to watch for
The enhanced rate has only been in place for a few months, so its impact will take time to appear in end credits.
The early signs to watch are announcements from international productions placing visual effects work in Ireland, expansion at existing Irish studios and new hiring across the sector.
Another indicator will be whether companies that previously used Ireland mainly for filming begin keeping more of their post-production work in the country too.
The UK comparison will also be worth watching.
Both countries now have specific incentives designed to attract VFX work, and the competition will not be decided by the headline rate alone. Talent availability, studio capacity, production schedules and the wider tax environment will all matter.
For viewers, the practical outcome is simple.
The next time a fantasy or sci-fi series ends and the credits start rolling, it may be worth checking where the effects were made.
The answer could increasingly be Ireland.
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