Local Film Offices network
The Network of Local Film Offices is a Screen Ireland-coordinated network of county-level film office contacts across the Republic of Ireland. The network is free to access and provides the operational first port of call for productions needing local-area support.
For Northern Ireland, the parallel service is Northern Ireland Screen — see NI Screen Fund + sister funds.
What a Local Film Office does
A Local Film Office is typically embedded in a county council or local authority. They provide:
| Service | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location identification | Suggesting locations matching the production's brief — houses, streetscapes, landscapes, public buildings |
| Filming permits | Liaising with the council to grant permission to film on public land / streets |
| Road closures | Coordinating Garda + council approval for road closures (typically 4-5 weeks notice required) |
| Community liaison | Briefing local residents about the production, managing expectations |
| Council services | Coordinating bin collection, parking suspensions, signage with council operational teams |
| Emergency services | Pre-briefing Garda + Fire Service + ambulance services on production activity |
The service is free — no fee for the Local Film Office's coordination work. The producer pays for the actual permits, road closures, council services that flow from the coordination.
Coverage
The network covers 29 county-level contacts spanning the Republic of Ireland. Each county council typically has either:
- A dedicated Film Office with a named contact, OR
- A nominated contact in the council's planning, tourism, or economic development team who handles film inquiries
Counties with the most-developed film office services tend to be those that have hosted significant productions — Wicklow, Galway, Kerry, Cork, Donegal, Dublin (operating across the city + four Dublin local authorities).
How to engage
Producers contact the Local Film Office in the county or counties where they intend to shoot. The Screen Ireland Network of Local Film Offices page lists each county's contact.
The conversation typically opens with:
- Producer briefs the LFO on the production — type, scale, dates, location requirements
- LFO suggests locations matching the brief
- Producer scouts (often accompanied by the LFO on initial visits)
- LFO facilitates permits, road closures, community liaison for confirmed locations
- LFO continues as the operational interface through the shoot
Lead times for permits
Different permit types have different lead times:
| Permit | Typical lead time |
|---|---|
| Filming in a public park / open space | 2 weeks |
| Filming on a public street (no road closure) | 2-3 weeks |
| Road closure permit (with Garda coordination) | 4-5 weeks |
| Filming in a council-owned building | Variable — depends on building use + council policy |
Road closures need 4-5 weeks. Productions occasionally calendar a road closure 2 weeks out and discover the Garda coordination + council approval needs longer. Build the lead time in early — the LFO will tell you the operational reality.
Cross-border productions
For productions shooting on both sides of the Irish border, two parallel systems operate:
| Region | Authority |
|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland (26 counties) | Local Film Offices network |
| Northern Ireland (6 counties) | Northern Ireland Screen + the relevant district councils |
Cross-border productions engage both networks in parallel. See Cross-border productions — Ireland + Northern Ireland + UK for the all-island operational framing and NI Screen Fund + sister funds for the Northern Ireland-side instruments.
How Togra supports this
Per-project Locations records carry a county tag. When the county is set, Togra surfaces the relevant Local Film Office contact alongside the location record — producers can engage the LFO directly from the project surface without leaving Togra. The 4-5 week road-closure lead time appears as a countdown on any location record flagged "road closure required."
Related
Sources
- · Screen Ireland Network of Local Film Offices · screenireland.ie/filming/network-of-local-film-offices