JOINT COMMITTEE ON EUROPEAN UNION AFFAIRS debate -
Thursday, 17 May 2012

Cultural and Creative Industries in the Europe 2020 Strategy: Discussion with Temple Bar Cultural Trust

Chairman

We have received apologies from Deputies Paschal Donohoe, Seán Kyne and Joe O'Reilly, and Senator Fidelma Healy Eames.

The first item on our agenda is a discussion on the role of cultural and creative industries in the Europe 2020 strategy. I am delighted to welcome Ms Gráinne Millar and Mr. Alastar Mac Aongusa from the Temple Bar Cultural Trust.

Ms Millar was appointed by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to the European Commission's open method of co-ordination group on culture and the creative industries. This group will shortly produce a set of guidelines to assist regional and national governments in integrating culture and creative industries into regional strategies and to make use of the facilities of the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund. Ms Millar argues that Ireland has a great opportunity to contribute and assist Europe on how to achieve the objectives of the EU 2020 strategy and to strengthen its own cultural and creative industries in Ireland.

Before I invite Ms Millar to address the committee I remind members that by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of the evidence they are to give this committee. If a witness is directed by the committee to cease giving evidence in relation to a particular matter and the witness continues to so do, the witness is entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of his or her evidence. Witnesses are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and witnesses are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise nor make charges against any person or persons or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable.

Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the House or an official by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

Ms Gráinne Millar

Mr. Alastar Mac Aongusa and I are very pleased to have been invited to make this presentation to the committee. I prepared a short PowerPoint presentation but technology is letting us down this morning. However, I have supplied information for circulation to members and I will speak about it and then be happy to answer any questions from members.

As the Chairman said, last year I was appointed by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to the European expert group on culture and creative industries. This builds on the work in which Temple Bar has been engaged with Europe since the regeneration in 1991. Over the next few minutes I plan to give the committee an update on the role of culture and creative industries in the Europe 2020 strategy and I will outline some of the opportunities provided through the EU programmes which will support the culture and creative industries here in Ireland. I will also give an outline of a targeted and structured approach which could be taken in Ireland to secure additional funding to support the cultural and creative industries and to provide overall support for our national recovery.

For the purposes of the discussion it may be helpful to give an overview of cultural and creative industries because there may be confusion as to their composition. The European Commission takes an inclusive approach to the cultural and creative industries and includes the performing arts through to heritage, film, TV, radio, photography, design and fashion. The European Commission conducted an economic impact study in 2006 which showed that all these sectors together represent 2.7% of the overall European GDP. This area has grown by 12% since that report. Compared with other sectors in Europe, it produces more than the real estate sector and it is bigger than the food and beverage sector. It is a very significant sector and what distinguishes it from other sectors is its potential for growth. It is one of the fastest growing sectors in the European economy.

I will deal with the profile of the sector in Ireland. There are no definitions for the culture and creative industries in this country nor is there an integrated policy. However, the Indecon research undertaken last year shows that 80,000 jobs are supported in the culture and creative industries and this is a significant figure. It shows we have a very robust sector in Ireland.

In 2009, the Western Development Commission produced a report which examined the culture and creative industries in the western region. A mapping exercise of the region identified 5,000 companies in all these different areas of the sector with 11,000 jobs being supported. The commission has subsequently secured European funding to lead a project under the aegis of Mayo County Council which aims to develop and support the culture and creative industries in the region and create export opportunities across Europe for these companies.

A practical example of how European funding has supported Ireland would include infrastructural benefits but Temple Bar is also a great example. In 1991, the Government supported the project and helped to secure European regional development funds and the result has been the creation of a really bustling cultural and creative district with 400 businesses in the Temple Bar area, all of which were developed through the creation of a cultural and creative hub. The economic contribution of the Temple Bar area to Ireland amounts to more than €600 million and if one were to regard Temple Bar as a company it would rank 69th in the top 1,000 companies in the list compiled by The Irish Times. This shows that the culture and creative industries have great potential. Temple Bar is an excellent case study which is being recognised at European level. It has been singled out in the European policy handbook which I was involved in defining and producing and which has been submitted to the European Commission.

The relationship of Temple Bar with the European funding programmes has continued to evolve since 1991. We are currently involved in managing an INTERREG cultural programme and we have secured more than €5 million over the past number of years for cultural and creative projects that work transnationally across Europe.

I will deal with the funding opportunities for the culture and creative sector in Ireland and the potential EU funding available. The existing culture programme is due to end in 2013 and €400 million is available in the cultural programme for cultural organisations. There is also an audiovisual programme with a fund of €750 million. We have been very successful in the audiovisual sector and approximately 1% of the overall fund has been drawn down. Unfortunately it has not been the same for the cultural programme as we have been one of the poorer performers in Europe as regards our participation in the European culture programme. I have brought this to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, and I know he has been working to find ways in which Ireland can enhance its potential and involvement in the European culture programme.

As the European Commission prepares for the 2020 strategy, it is introducing a new funding programme called Creative Europe and it is increasing the amount of money available so that the total fund will be €1.6 billion. This will continue the support of culture and the film sector and it will also help to grow and develop the capacity of businesses working in the culture and creative industries so they can export their work across Europe, find new markets and increase their networking abilities and competitiveness.

The committee will be familiar with the seventh framework programme which is focused on research and development and this is managed by Enterprise Ireland. It is a programme in which Ireland has been particularly successful. It has exceeded the targets set of 1% and the programme has more than €9 billion available. It is interesting that the culture and creative industries are eligible to apply for this fund but their participation has been very poor. There is potential and opportunity to grow and develop, particularly with regard to the Horizon 2020 programme.

The cohesion policy has the greatest potential for Ireland. This has been the core focus of the EU policy handbook which I worked on with the expert group. A total of €100 million is waiting to be drawn down from that project. This is the funding programme from which Temple Bar accessed funding to kick-start the regeneration. As for the European Commission's plans for 2020, one of the conditions for drawing down regional funding will be that member states will be required to integrate culture and creative industries into its policy and programming. This means that if Ireland is to consider ways in which to access regional funding, we must build in the cultural and creative industries in order to draw down such funding. This is because the potential for cultural and creative industries to stimulate economies, transform rural and urban areas, create jobs and foster cultural tourism, etc., has been recognised at European level.

In the context of how Ireland compares with other European countries, in our study we examined how successful the latter have been in accessing the Cohesion Fund. Austria and Finland, which are comparable to Ireland in both scale and size, have managed to secure over €140 million from the fund. The question for us relates to what we can do to optimise our involvement in European funding programmes going forward. We must also consider how we can build on the successes that have already taken place. If we examine the approaches adopted by countries such as Finland and Austria, I am of the view that we can learn from them. I have outlined four steps we might take to learn from what these countries have done to better position themselves to take advantage of the funding available for their cultural and creative industries. However, there are a number of different ideas which we would be happy to discuss with the committee at greater length. Austria and Finland both have very targeted and structured approaches. From the outset, they established high-level working groups both within government and across government departments. In addition, they have identified where the potential exists.

As stated earlier, the Western Development Commission - in the guise of Creative West - carried out a mapping exercise in respect of the potential that exists in the western region. The countries to which I refer carried out such exercises at national level. This would have provided them with a very good picture of where their strengths lie in the context of cultural and creative industries. This is extremely important because in the context of European regional development policy, they are working towards the concept of smart specialisation strategies. This means they are seeking regions across Europe to develop expertise in particular areas. One of the areas in respect of which Ireland has great potential is that relating to its cultural and creative industries. It also has potential in the leisure industry area. These are two sectors which the European Commission has recognised in policy and policy development in a regional context.

The third aspect involved is considering how to better co-ordinate the management authorities that are administering or managing European funding programmes in Ireland. For example, the culture contact point would be based at the Arts Council. The INTERREG funds are managed by the Southern & Eastern Regional Assembly. We have a range of different management authorities on the ground but the challenge is to find a co-ordinated way of bringing these groups together thematically around the cultural and creative industries in order to consider how we might develop a strategy around the opportunities and potential that exist for Ireland.

I referred earlier to the fact that the Baltic states, Finland and Austria have very strong interdepartmental links. For example, their departments which deal with arts, heritage and culture would work strongly with those which have responsibility for enterprise and regional development. Equally, they have strong transnational relationships. A prerequisite to European funding is the need to establish transnational partnerships. The Baltic states have the Northern Dimension Partnership. Specifically, this involves a relationship between member states which is based on developing strategies and an approach towards European funding programmes. The Republic has an obvious partner in Northern Ireland. In the context of policy, the Government in Northern Ireland has set a target of 5% for drawing down European funds in the coming years. The Temple Bar Cultural Trust has a very strong relationship with the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure. That is an area which is in the top five priority areas for economic development. We already have very strong links with our cross-Border partners at Government level and also through a range of different societies and organisations. Great opportunity exists in the context of harnessing these in order to improve upon and maximise our chances of obtaining funding and also to consider how European programmes can support and assist us in achieving our Government targets of employment, economic competitiveness and development.

That is just an outline of the position with regard to the cultural and creative industries. We would be happy to take questions from members. If there are areas which they wish to discuss further, they should feel free to do so.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I thank Ms Millar and Mr. Mac Aongusa for attending and for their extremely positive evaluation of future prospects in this area, as they see them. I strongly agree with what Ms Millar said. She correctly identified the potential that exists in the context of utilising our culture, heritage and history - both the positive and negative aspects - for beneficial purposes in the context of the marketing of the image of Ireland both at home and abroad. The aim in this regard is to encourage tourists, etc., to come here by projecting an image of Ireland abroad by electronic and other means. The projection of that image will be hugely beneficial to the future development of our economy. It is well known that for every €1 spent in the area of culture, arts and heritage, the add-on from the private sector is €3. This is of massive importance in the context of the climate which currently obtains here and throughout the European Union.

Everything Ms Millar stated was positive in nature. In what is an increasingly negative atmosphere, there is a need for positive action. People who think positively and who have a positive attitude must project the particularly optimistic views they have of this country to others. God knows there is a great deal of negativity out there and this is leading to people becoming depressed, particularly if they listen to those with a downbeat attitude for too long.

In the context of culture, the arts and heritage, the projection of positive images relating to this country across the globe can give rise to huge benefits. Certain images relating to particular countries give rise to instant recognition. This is true of Ireland and there are many very positive images from our culture and our history - even the tragic aspects thereof - we can project abroad. A classic example of a tragedy to befall this country was the Great Famine. There is no doubt that this was not a really joyous event in our history. It is now, however, being used as an instrument of recognition with regard to what is happening in several regions across the globe. In that context, there has been a focus on the extreme difficulties with which the people of Ireland were obliged to deal during the Famine and the lessons that have been learned.

Another example in this regard is the Titanic. People from the locality in which I live were on board that ship when it sank and from the time I could read I was always fascinated by it. What happened to the Titanic was an appalling tragedy and it was a blight on the country at the time. Amazingly, however, a positive image has been bestowed on this terrible incident in our history. Everything has been turned around in respect of this matter and jobs have been created at the Titanic Belfast visitor attraction. The latter, which evokes the history and fell of the period, is being used to create a better image abroad.

I congratulate our guests on their work. In the context of parliamentary questions I have tabled over many years, I have pursued exactly the same matters as those to which Ms Millar refers. In such circumstances, it would unfair if I were to say anything else.

Chairman

Absolutely.

Senator James Heffernan

I welcome Ms Millar and thank her for her presentation. Unfortunately, the technology let us down from the point of view of the visual aspect of the presentation but Ms Millar certainly made up for this in the way she spoke.

Ms Millar indicated that the cultural and creative industries account for 2.7% of Europe's GDP. This shows the huge potential that exists for growth. I was somewhat taken aback by Ms Millar's reference to the mapping exercise carried out in the west. I was not aware of that exercise.

The potential for growth in the identification of 5,000 companies and 11,000 jobs in this sector in the regions, including the Shannon region in which I am particularly interested, is huge. Our reputation worldwide in culture and the creative industries is second to none and we are the envy of many other nations. We are known for our poets, writers and cultural organisations such as the Gaelic Athletic Association. However, there are many such organisations and there is some cultural activity in every town and village. We have a landscape that lends itself to cultural activities. It is on the marketing side that we seem to have fallen down in recent years. I do not know if Ms Millar would agree with me on that point. The issue is obviously bigger than that and the sector needs to be developed further.

What, in the opinion of Ms Millar, is the reason for the delay in our accessing funds? I have visited Austria and Finland, which has a population of similar size to that of Ireland and a similar geography as a northern European nation. These countries seem to have a greater grasp of what they are about in this sector. What problems does Ms Millar think we have in it? Is it a case of there being too many cooks spoiling the broth? There seems to be a litany of organisations which are responsible for culture and tourism. Is that the problem we face? Ms Millar has said there needs to be a more targeted and structured approach. Is that the reason there is such a delay in accessing Cohesion Funds? She has also said the countries mentioned have drawn down €140 million. How much have we drawn down?

Senator Colm Burke

I apologise for being late and missing a substantial part of Ms Millar's presentation, but I have its general outline. The issue concerns our accessing the European funding mechanism under which strict criteria are set down for the way an application is to be submitted and the way funding is used thereafter. I know of another area in which funding was made available - the globalisation fund - and it could not be used because the criteria set down could not be met. One of the problems in the area in which Ms Millar is involved is that many work in a voluntary capacity, while many others who work in a full-time capacity put in many more hours than they are paid for, which shows their commitment and dedication.

A far more co-ordinated approach has been adopted by the Department to the most recent round of funding applications for building workers submitted under the globalisation fund. I wonder if more homework needs to be done before applications are submitted and support mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure applicants submit correct information on their programmes and targets to ensure they will have a better chance of accessing funding. I wonder if we need to be far more professional in our approach at Government level than we have been. This is not a criticism of any departmental official or anyone else. We have done this very well in the case of agriculture and while we did not get it right the first time in regard to the globalisation fund, we appear to have pulled things together in that €37.5 million is being made available for the retraining of building workers.

The potential for the creation of employment in this sector is huge. I remember being chairperson of the arts committee in Cork city where there was a great number of small groups which, when taken together, employed more than 1,000 people. We should, therefore, be far more professional in our approach to this issue. What is Ms Millar's view on how we should deal with it?

Chairman

A number of questions have been raised, one of which I wish to reiterate for Ms Millar. She spoke about the problem encountered in drawing down funding and said we were one of the poorer performers when it came to European cultural programmes. Will she comment on whether this is due to a lack of resources or projects, or what are the reasons for it? What can we do to make things better?

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan took the Chair.

Ms Gráinne Millar

I have noted four questions and will start from the top. Senator James Heffernan asked if we knew how much had been drawn down from the Cohesion Fund for cultural and creative industries. We have found it very difficult to get an exact figure. We do not have a figure for how much Ireland has drawn down in general under the last programme outside the cultural and creative industries. As I mentioned, we have been able to get information on the culture and audiovisual programmes. The audiovisual programme is managed by a company called Media Desk which drew down about 1% of the total budget available, or €750 million. The culture programme was identified as one of the poorer performers in that respect.

The Senator also spoke about fragmentation or the perception of different agencies. That is probably one of the challenges or opportunities for us in terms of the need to adopt a more joined-up approach across cultural and creative industries and Departments. What has emerged through research conducted in Europe on the value of the sector and what we know in Ireland in this respect is that we need to start viewing seriously the cultural and creative industries as an economic driver. While culture involves entertainment and supports the profile and identity of Ireland, it is a significant driver of employment and generating added value and wealth. I spoke about the example of Temple Bar where an investment in developing a cultural quarter and supporting cultural and creative businesses has enabled companies to grow. When that investment began, there were about 35 cultural organisations. Today there are 80 cultural and creative industries as a result of the clustering effect. This has stimulated the creation of a wider tourism and business economy and there are now some 400 businesses in the area.

We need to understand the potential of the sector. This is linked with what Senator Colm Burke said about identifying the areas with potential. We know through the work done by the Western Department Commission that there is potential for development in the west. We know from various reports published through the Crafts Council of Ireland and the audiovisual report published by the Department of the Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs that a growth potential figure of 50% has been identified for the number of jobs that could be created in crafts and the film industry in the next five years. There is no reason the European support programmes cannot help us to unlock this potential and achieve such growth.

We do not have a good understanding of the potential for growth in this sector. One of first things we need to do, in line with what Senator Colm Burke said, is to identify the areas in which there are opportunities before we start to design projects or make applications for the next round of funds. We have a fantastic opportunity to generate growth and great potential, but we need to adopt a more targeted and joined-up approach. This starts at Government level in terms of the linkages with the relevant Departments working with practitioners and the experts on the ground and linking with the authorities managing the EU funding programmes. They are the points of contact. It can sometimes be difficult to access information on European funding programmes. That, in itself, is probably a little fragmented, so taking a more thematic approach to the cultural and creative industries, whether it is the Cohesion Fund, the culture programme or the research and development, FP7, programme, will put us in a much better position. Enterprise Ireland, EI, is a good example of how it has transformed this country's involvement in the research and development programmes. When EI started out it took a phased approach. I have had discussions with Dr. Imelda Lambkin who led the programme in Enterprise Ireland. First, one must build relationships in Europe and facilitate companies and individuals in this country to network in Europe and meet other companies and businesses. Supports are needed to get Irish companies into Europe. Following that, seed funding is required to enable companies to develop pilot projects and get involved in European projects. The third element commences when the country gains a reputation and can start to lead projects. That is what has happened with EI. This country is the most successful participant in the FP7 programme for small to medium-sized enterprises. It has been a gradual approach but it was targeted. EI specifically set out to achieve a 1% drawdown of all European funds. It has exceeded that and it is setting even greater targets for itself now. A similar approach must be taken by the cultural and creative industries.

Senator Colm Burke

On the issue of accessing funding, one of the people who worked with me in Brussels when I was a Member of the European Parliament for two years subsequently went on to work for the European Commission for three years. One of the things she is now doing is assisting companies to draft applications for projects seeking funding. It is not in this area - it is in a totally different area - but there must be Irish people who have worked in Brussels who are aware of the requirements that exist who would be only too delighted to come on board to give that help. That is something that should be examined.

Ms Gráinne Millar

I agree with Senator Colm Burke. Temple Bar Cultural Trust has been actively involved in INTERREG programmes and we are currently involved in a programme with other urban-based organisations in a project called Creative Urban Renewal in Europe, CURE. I will ask my colleague to talk briefly about it.

Mr. Alastar Mac Aongusa

Very simply, this is a project involving seven EU member states in the north west of Europe. They are looking at two locations, Amsterdam and Temple Bar, as centres of best practice in terms of how one initially uses European seed funding to create a creative or culturally-led quarter but then also to manage and sustain its growth over a long period. It is an ongoing project that has another two or three years left to run. In November of last year we had a delegation of 20 European officials from each of the countries involved covering a range of disciplines. They were able to network and meet genuine entrepreneurs and small companies and larger national cultural institutions and get an understanding of the diversity that is in the sector. As an adjunct to that, this year we are involved in another programme called the European Business Lab which again is a bottom-up approach. It is very simple and small scale but it is very effective. It is about what Ms Millar alluded to in terms of creating genuine connections between creative entrepreneurs and encouraging them to travel and meet other colleagues in other cities and to have a genuine exchange that might bear fruit further down the line.

Ms Gráinne Millar

To conclude what Mr. Mac Aongusa said, there are other examples across this country. In the past year both Mayo and Sligo county councils, working with their enterprise boards, have managed to secure funds to lead European funding programmes which specifically focus on the cultural and creative industries. They are transnational projects which will run for two or three years. There are experts on the ground. Having had an opportunity to be involved in designing the EU policy handbook on structural funds for 2014 onwards we have unique insights into the priorities and conditions sought by the European Commission. Much of the time with European funds, the interpretation of the call for proposals is not very explicit in the sense of it relating to a particular sector. We must access the experts who are in Brussels and work through our permanent representatives, MEPs and agencies in Europe and across the sector in this country to, as Senator Burke pointed out, identify the opportunities and do the homework in advance.

Deputy Dominic Hannigan took the Chair.

Chairman

I thank Ms Millar and Mr. Mac Aongusa for their attendance and their presentation. We hope to hear from them again and to learn more about their work.

Ms Gráinne Millar

We would be delighted to come back and to develop our ideas and proposals and share them with the committee.

Sitting suspended at 12.05 p.m. and resumed at 12.25 p.m.