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• G - 'General' - Suitable for viewing by anyone.
• PG - 'Parental Guidance' - Parental guidance is recommended for children under the age of 12.
• 12PG - 'Parent supervision required for children under 12' - A person over 18 years of age must accompany a child under the age of 12 when seeing a film theatrically. This is very similar to the 12A certificate that the BBFC introduced in August 2002.
• 15PG - 'Parent supervision required for children under 15' - A much stronger warning that, although the film may be unsuitable for a child under the age of 15 watching alone, a child with an adult may be admitted to the film's screening.
• 18 - 'Adults only' - The film is suitable only for adults. A person under this age will not be admitted. 9 Songs in October 2004 became the first film featuring explicit sex scenes to receive a certificate.

The Film Censor's Office was set up in 1929. As of 2004, the current legal basis of the operation of the Film Censor's Office is the Video Recordings Act, 1989.

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 arthouse 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.

External links

• Official website of the Film Censor's Office