The Irish Film Classification Office have unveiled a revised and updated set of Classification Guidelines, with changes made to how the depictions of drugs, bullying, anti social behaviour and self-harm are classified.
The office (IFCO), is responsible for classifying visual content for cinema release and home entertainment content which is sold across Ireland. They have said that "the publication of the new Guidelines represents a key milestone in IFCO's commitment to transparency and public engagement in film classification".
They also said in a statement: "The publication of the new revised Guidelines fulfils a key commitment set out in IFCO’s Strategy Statement 2023 to 2025, underscoring the Office’s dedication to providing trusted and timely classification and advice and evolving its practices in line with research, public engagement, and societal expectations".
These guidelines were revised and produced following public consultation and independent research conducted by the IFCO and Behaviour & Attitudes in 2023, the same year that the office marked its centenary.
The "plain English" version of this classification was commissioned by the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA).
On these guidelines, Dr Ciarán Kissane, Director of Film Classification said: "The publication of our revised Classification Guidelines marks a key milestone for IFCO".
"By expanding the drugs category to include harmful behaviour, we are responding directly to the research published in 2023 and stakeholder feedback during our public consultation.
"The new Classification Guidelines reflect our ongoing commitment to ensure our classifications remain relevant and reflect current community standards.
"We are particularly proud to introduce a Plain English version of the Guidelines, developed in partnership with NALA", he added. "It is important to us that our Classification Guidelines are accessible and easy to read for all, keeping in mind the younger audiences. By doing this, we hope to increase public understanding of IFCO’s work and improve media literacy".
