| Established: | 1923 |
| Acting Director of Film Classification | Ger Connolly |
| Deputy Director | Vacant |
| Budget: | Unknown |
| Employees: | 21 |
The Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) (Irish: Oifig Aicmithe Scannán na hÉireann) is the organisation responsible for film and some video game classification and censorship within the Republic of Ireland. Where restrictions are placed by the IFCO, they are legally binding. Prior to 21 July 2008, the office was branded as the Irish Film Censor's Office, and was previously known as simply the Film Censor's Office, or, in legal references, the office of the Official Censor of Films, which was the official title of the head of the office prior to that date. The head of the office is the Director of Film Classification.
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The Irish Film Censor's Office was set up in 1923, in accordance with the Censorship of Films Act, 1923. This law was amended in 1930, 1972 and 1990; and a substantial revision of the law occurred in the Video Recordings Act, 1989 which extended the remit of the office to the regulation of the video importation and supply industry. On 21 July 2008 the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008 came into force. Section 70 changes some of the provisions with regard censorship of films in the State. Section 71 renames the Film Censor as the Director of Film Classification and consequent to this, the Irish Film Censor's Office became the Irish Film Classification Office.
The office consists of 21 staff members:
The 10 assistant classifiers are paid €168 per day and are entitled to claim expenses on top of this. According to a freedom of information request granted to the Irish edition of the Sunday Times the assistant classifiers claimed €306,683 and expenses of €52,569 in 2007; €339,608 in fees and €49,898 in expenses in 2008; and €162,263 in fees and €21,401 in expenses for the first half of 2009. This equates to a payment of approximately €60 per film rated.[1]
The current cinematic certificates that are issued are:
The current certificates for DVD and VHS that are issued are:
NOTE: In "12RA" the "RA" denotes "Responsible Adult"
This is the crossover, or change, in a certificate that will happen when a film which has been shown in cinemas, is released on DVD/VHS, BUT this only applies if:
If the above information applies to a DVD/VHS release, please see below the table.
The standard crossovers are as follows:
| Cinema Certificate | DVD/VHS Certificate |
|---|---|
| G | G |
| PG | PG |
| 12A | 12 |
| 15A | 15 |
| 16 | 15/18 |
| 18 | 18 |
* The certificate "12RA" does NOT have a corresponding cinematic certificate, and thus, does not have a standard crossover (certain 12A films received the certificate before it was withdrawn in the early 2000s).
If the two rules above apply to a film's DVD/VHS release, then, generally, it will be re-rated completely, but this does not mean DVD/VHS certificates will always coincide, as occasionally (usually the DVD) one edition will contain extra features while the other doesn't, causing one to be re-rated, and the other to take a Standard Crossover (for instance, a film which received a 15A certificate in cinemas may receive a 15 certificate on VHS but an 18 certificate on DVD; usually DVDs in these circumstances will carry a label on the reverse, informing you of this).
Until February 2009, the DVD/VHS certificates were always the certificate surrounded by an octagon, followed by the words "FILM CENSOR'S OFFICE" and "OIFIG SCRÚDÓIR NA SCANNÁN", which were then surrounded by another, larger, octagon. The colours were cyan and white, but the order they appear in varied. Although the Office was renamed in July 2008, these continued to bear the old name until February 2009, where they were altered to read "IRISH FILM CLASSIFICATION OFFICE" and its Irish equivalent.
Unlike the BBFC in the UK, which rates video games that meet certain criteria (such as very graphic violence), the Irish Film Censor's Office does not usually rate video games, leaving ratings to PEGI, unless the game's content is deemed prohibitable under section 3 (1) of the Act. Games rated by the IFCO include Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Manhunt, which were given 15 and 18 ratings, respectively.
Despite the lack of legally binding ratings, most (if not all) video game retailers attempt to prohibit the sale of PEGI 18+ rated games to people under the age of 18, and prior to PEGI ratings the same was done with BBFC 18 ratings on games (the same packaging is usually used in games sold in Ireland as in the UK).
The only prohibition notice for a video game was issued for Manhunt 2 in 2007 (which was re-rated 18).[2]
All decisions made with regard to certification, may be appealed for up to 6 months after the certificate is initially issued. An appeal is issued to the Classification of Films Appeal Board.
Works may also be submitted for re-classification after seven years since the original certification have passed (not an appeal per se, but rather seen as an update of classification based on current standards)
Films may be refused a certificate, e.g. on grounds of obscenity. Such films may not be shown in public cinemas or sold in shops, but are not ipso facto banned and have been shown at film festivals and art house clubs such as the Irish Film Institute. These may also show films which have not been submitted for certification, as the submission fee may be prohibitive if a film is screened only a few times at a small venue.
Despite the recommendations in the 2000 review of certification that no further films be banned, bans are still occasionally issued, although usually overturned on appeal. Boy Eats Girl, a 2005 movie, was initially banned, with the option of a cut being provided to the producers. On appeal, the film was passed uncut, and granted a 15A rating.
Movies which are never submitted for cinema release in Ireland are occasionally banned on attempted video releases, although only one such order was made in 2004, banning the pornographic Anabolic Initiations 5 (IMDb link), with the appeals board upholding the censor's order. One order was issued in 2005, reiterating the ban on Deep Throat. The only order in 2006 banned the pornographic film Steal Runaway.
Films and videos banned by the Classifier/Censor include:
| Title | type | year | lifted |
|---|---|---|---|
| I Spit On Your Grave | film | 2010 | |
| Manhunt 2[3] | video game | 2007 | lifted |
| I Love to Fantasize | film | 2007 | |
| Love @ First Byte | film | 2007 | |
| Wild Cards | film | 2007 | |
| From Dusk Til Porn | film | 2007 | |
| Sizzling Sex Stars | film | 2003 | |
| Swingers Vacation 2: Secret Games | film | 2003 | |
| Vampire Vixens | film | 2003 | |
| Blue Hotel: Caught in the Act | film | 2003 | |
| Blue Matrix | film | 2003 | |
| Bad Lieutenant | film | 2003 | |
| Dracula's Dirty Daughters | film | 2003 | |
| Baise-moi | film | 2002 | lifted |
| Better Sex III: How To Give a Woman Pleasure | film | 2002 | |
| Dark Garden | film | 2002 | |
| Showgirls | film | 1995 | lifted |
| Natural Born Killers | film | 1994 | lifted |
| Man Bites Dog | film | 1992 | lifted |
| Meet the Feebles | film | 1989 | |
| Monty Python's The Meaning of Life | film | 1983 | lifted 1990 |
| Porky's | film | 1982 | lifted |
| The Evil Dead | film | 1981 | lifted |
| Monty Python's Life of Brian | film | 1979 | lifted 1987 |
| Debbie Does Dallas | film | 1978 | |
| Emmanuelle | film | 1974 | lifted |
| Deep Throat | film | 1972 | lifted |
| A Clockwork Orange | film | 1971 | lifted 2000 |
| Get Carter | film | 1971 | lifted |
| Brief Encounter | film | 1945 | |
| The Great Dictator | film | 1940 | lifted |
Like many systems of entertainment classification the IFCO has been subject to backlash for several decisions they have made in the past. Most accusations stem from the board being considered too overzealous and conservative. Many titles that receive 15 certificates from the BBFC are rated 18 by the IFCO. Three titles in particular have garnered the board much harsh criticism; Election, But I'm a Cheerleader and Brokeback Mountain. While the films have little or no violent or sexual content (and are rated 15 by the BBFC) all three were given 18 certificates in Ireland, leading many to believe the certificates were given solely due to the homosexual content of the films.
However, Brokeback Mountain was rated 16 by IFCO when it was released in cinemas (its 18 rating is only on DVD). '15' in Britain means that the film is only suitable for those aged 15 years old or older, while in Ireland, the 15A-rating admits under-15s if they are accompanied by adults. 16 is an over-16 only rating, meaning that anyone under 16 will not be admitted, regardless of parental supervision, resulting in a substantial increase in adult content. Because of this, many films rated "16" for cinema, are raised to "18" for DVD or Blu-ray as there is no "16" rating for home entertainment in Ireland.
Because the IFCO is established on a statutory basis, the appeals procedure is final. Thus, where a decision by the censor to ban a film or video game is made and this ban is approved by Classification of Films Appeal Board there is no further grounds of appeal, only the option of resubmission after seven years.