Select Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media debate -
Wednesday, 6 Nov 2024

Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (Supplementary)

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan)

I thank Members for agreeing that I act as temporary Cathaoirleach today. Apologies have been received from the Cathaoirleach, Deputy Smyth. Today's meeting of the select committee has been convened to consider the Supplementary Estimates for Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. Matters relating to programme area C of the Vote, Gaeltacht, have been considered by the Oireachtas select committee on the Irish language, Gaeltacht and Irish-speaking community.

I welcome the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, and the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, and their officials to the meeting today. As the Minister and Minister of State are present, it is not expected that officials will speak in this session. Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or any official, either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

I propose that we proceed with the opening statements and invite the Minister to make hers.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (Deputy Catherine Martin)

Tá áthas orm a bheith anseo inniu chun sonraí faoin meastachán forlíontach teicniúil do mo Roinn i 2024 a chur i láthair don Choiste. Déanfaidh an meastachán forlíontach teicniúil seo soláthar d’athdháileadh coigilteas ar fud Vóta mo Roinne, ach ní hionann é agus maoiniú breise ón Státchiste. Labhróidh an tAire Byrne leis an gcoiste maidir le réimse an chláir Spóirt agus tabharfaidh mé sonraí faoin soláthar maoinithe breise don earnáil turasóireachta agus do TG4, agus tabharfaidh mé aghaidh ar na tionchair a bheidh ag níos mó fáltais ó cheadúnais chraolacháin ná mar a ceapadh ar fud réimse clár na Meán.

First, in the tourism programme area, an additional €5.8 million is being provided to subhead A4, Tourism Ireland, to meet budgetary commitments to this North-South body. This is provided through €1 million in savings from subhead A6, tourism product development, and €4.8 million in savings from subhead D7, large scale sports infrastructure. On the media side, TG4 will receive further funding totalling €4.5 million to allow it to accelerate a number of commissioned projects and plan for increased commissioning of children’s content. This increased funding is provided through €2.6 million in savings across the Gaeltacht programme area, €1 million in savings from subhead D7, large scale sports infrastructure fund, and €900,000 savings in admin pay across my Department. In addition, €5 million is provided to subhead E7, Coimisiún na Meán, to meet fines and penalties arising from EU case C-679/22. This funding is met from savings of €1 million in subhead B7, cultural infrastructure and development, and €4 million in savings from subhead D7, large scale sports infrastructure fund, LSSIF.

The other impact of this Supplementary Estimate is technical in nature, and relates to disbursement of broadcasting licence fees and Exchequer funding for RTÉ. It is important to note that this does not represent an increase in funding for RTÉ and represents a net-zero cost to the Exchequer. The total overall funding RTÉ will receive from my Department in 2024 remains unchanged from the original Estimate. The adjustments are twofold. First, we anticipate an improved performance in TV licence receipts over and above that originally estimated. The inconsistent pattern in the sales of television licences in recent times has made the forecasting of licence receipts more difficult. While it remains a challenge to accurately predict year-end outturn, we are now in a better position to frame the expected increase as an additional €4.726 million in receipts to the Exchequer. The overall TV licence receipts fall to be distributed across subheads E3, E4 and E6 in accordance with the provisions of the Broadcasting Act 2009. These provisions require that 7% of net licence fee receipts goes to the broadcasting fund with the balance to RTÉ. These funds are net of expenses arising from licence fee collection paid to An Post. Second, adjustments arise on foot of the €40 million in Exchequer funding for 2024 allocated to RTÉ under subhead E8, which was initially offset in total against subhead E3, grant to RTÉ from licence fees, as part of the Revised Estimates 2024.

However, pro rata offsets in funding have to be applied to subheads E4 and E6 to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the Broadcasting Act. The cumulative impact of the increased television licence receipts and the technical adjustments required to comply with the relevant legislation result in a net decrease to subheads E4 and E6 and an increase in subhead E3 as outlined in the technical Supplementary Estimate documentation. These are technical adjustments that we are obliged to make under the Broadcasting Act 2009. The adjustments do not represent an increase in funding for RTÉ; rather, a redistribution of the funding between the amount available in respect of broadcasting licence fees and direct Exchequer funding.

As previously mentioned, the total overall funding which RTÉ received from my Department in 2024 remains unchanged from the original Estimates. Cuirfidh mé ar aghaidh sibh chuig an Aire, an Teachta Byrne, le labhairt faoi na coigeartuithe ar fud réimse an chláir spóirt. Beidh áthas orm ansin aon ábhar eile a bhaineann leis an Meastachán Forlíontach teicniúil seo a phlé.

Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (Deputy Thomas Byrne)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire, an Teachta Martin. Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis an gcoiste as an deis a thabhairt dom plé a dhéanamh ar thionchar an Mheastacháin Fhorlíontach theicniúil don chlár spóirt.

Budget 2025 was a significant moment for Irish sport. Two years ahead of schedule, the Government doubled funding for sport compared to 2018 levels. This is a key commitment under the national sports policy, which sought to double funding for sport compared to 2018 levels by 2027. This target has been achieved ahead of target.

This technical Supplementary Estimate provides for an additional €15 million for the community sports facilities fund, which we used to call the sports capital equipment programme, due to the faster delivery of funded projects, which is great to see, and consequently faster than anticipated draw-down of grants. I welcome this pace of delivery from communities throughout the country when it comes to sports projects. This underlines the ongoing demand for support across sporting clubs and bodies for which the Government has provided record funding. In addition, €200,000 is being provided to subhead D8, which is for major sports events and this is just to meet commitments in bringing the Ryder Cup to Ireland in 2027.

This additional funding is provided through savings in subhead D7, which is the LSSIF heading, where unfortunately drawdown on some large projects has been slower than anticipated. This is something I have spoken about on a number of occasions. Savings from this subhead have, as I said, been reallocated to the community sports facilities fund but also reallocated to support Tourism Ireland, TG4 and Coimisiún na Meán as referenced by the Minister. This technical Supplementary Estimate does not amount to any additional Exchequer funding outside that provided under the original Revised Estimates for 2024. However, it allows for the continued support of sport.

Tá mé sásta aon ceisteanna a fhreagairt atá ag an gcoiste.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan)

I thank the Minister of State.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

I thank the Minister and the Minister of State as well as their departmental colleagues for joining us this afternoon. I simply want to thank them both and their colleagues for the powerfully impactful work they have done in their time in these roles. It has been a tumultuous time in Irish media. They navigated that with exceptional skill and deep consideration for the importance of public sector broadcasting and public sector media generally. Now, at the end of that tumultuous time we find ourselves in a much better place.

In regard to investment in sport, as the Minister of State outlined, we are seeing unprecedented investment in communities in the health and well-being of our young people in particular, instilling in them the importance very early on in life of participation in every kind of sport. In particular for women and girls in sport, where in the past we have seen a significant drop-off in participation in their late teenage years, the investments that have been made in most recent times are working to address that in a very real and effective manner. This week we saw a significant allocation of funds to Kinvara Hockey Club which is setting out to provide a world-class hockey and multisport facility in a small village in south Galway that will serve south Connacht and north Clare well for the future. We grossly underestimate at times the power of the sports capital investments that we make to leverage extraordinary community endeavour and community connectedness. Kinvara is a perfect example of that.

In terms of our sporting investment for the future, I am wondering where our national velodrome is at. Significant commitments have been made and there is planning permission. I thank the Ministers for the additional investment being made in potentially developing a new velodrome in Limerick on the western side of the country. I was fortunate to visit New Zealand about six or seven years ago in my role as Minister of State for the diaspora. I visited two different velodromes there. The New Zealand Government and indeed the New Zealand nation as a whole have proven conclusively that when facilities of that nature are provided it encourages and supports young people in getting involved in sport, and in particular in cycling, at a very young age. As well as producing Olympic medal winners, it helps to develop that lifelong love of sporting participation, which is so important for people's health and well-being. I thank both of the Ministers and their colleagues. I wish them every success in the upcoming election. It is going to be a difficult time for anybody out there putting their head above the parapet. Well done and thank you.

Deputy Catherine Martin

There is good news on the velodrome. I thank him the Deputy for his constructive approach to these meetings. He has been a strong advocate, particularly on the sport and the arts side. He has a keen personal interest in both sectors. They have been very fortunate to have him as their advocate.

I also take the opportunity to wish him well. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with him in my time. I wish him a happy next chapter of his life.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

I thank the Deputy for the kind comments, not just today but always. It is very encouraging. The velodrome is about to go to tender. It is hoped that the tender will be awarded in quarter 2 next year. It will be published on etenders.gov.ie very soon. The go-ahead was given by the Government during the summer.

I am also very glad that the project in Limerick got the go-ahead under the large scale sports infrastructure fund. It is a very important project that recognises the abundance of talent in the country in cycling and the lack of infrastructure at the moment. We are addressing that. I will be delighted to see those two projects moving forward under whoever is in charge after this.

I met the group from Kinvara Hockey Club on a number of occasions. It exemplifies what is good about communities. It is just fantastic to see another project in the Deputy's constituency - the stadium for Connacht rugby. It is not just the stadium that people come to every fortnight. It is a working centre of excellence for Connacht rugby and for other activities. I really like to see that because when we invest in sport, we want to make sure that the facilities we provide are used to the greatest possible degree. In this round of LSSIF, many sports are covered, including many multisport facilities throughout the country. That is really welcome. I look forward to seeing these projects go.

To be as clear as possible, if projects that were not funded had valid applications, they are being placed on the reserve list and they will be funded as funding becomes available or on the basis of the use it or lose it clause of these grants. In the Supplementary Estimate, we are taking from the LSSIF because drawdown has not been as anticipated. That has bedevilled the programme that was announced in 2020. Many projects that were announced in 2020 have not started. Very few are finished. That cannot continue. It is a very clear message to the projects that got funding. We are delighted but we want to see them done. If they are not done within the timeframe the Department agreed with them in their funding agreement and if they do not comply with that, the funding will move on.

However, that is not the only source of potential funding for projects on the reserve list. As sure as night follows day, these projects will be funded if they are valid and they meet the conditions. I cannot give a timeline on that but once they are valid, they meet the conditions and are deliverable, we want to see them done. We would have no credibility if we just gave a list of €600 million last week. We had to do it properly. We had to make sure that these projects that are funded will actually be delivered and actually happen.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan)

At the risk of turning this into a back-slapping exercise-----

Deputy Thomas Byrne

We welcome that. God forbid.

An Cathaoirleach (Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan)

Even though Deputy Cannon forgot my name, I wish him good luck in the future. It has been a pleasure being on the committee with him and his interest in the arts obviously shone through. I recall chatting to him and being intrigued that he ran a small theatre back home. I would have loved to have had an opportunity to see something there. I wish him best of luck in the future.

The arts sector feels well supported for the first time in a long time. The Minister very much had its back. We have to compliment that, and we will all fondly remember the days of the RTÉ committees and how she conducted herself there.

I turn to the Minister of State. We do not always get everything we want, but right across the country sports communities and facilities will thrive because of funding from his Department. Bandon, County Cork, will have an athletics track. West Cork will have an athletics track. That is phenomenal. For a region that has produced megastars such as Phil Healy without a track, we can imagine what we would do with a track. We have to acknowledge that. That is the backslapping over.

I will come back to the crux of the €5.8 million reallocation to tourism. There were some unsuccessful applications under this round of LSSIF. Kinsale Hockey Club in Saile is something I advocated for. The centre applied for what would have been a wonderful multisport complex in Kinsale, not just catering for hockey but for a range of sports and access to the entire community. It is sad and disappointing that Cork County Council did not sponsor this and have it as one of its projects. I know it gave a letter of support, but I think it has questions to answer as to why it did not select this as one of its projects for funding, because when they do not it leaves them hampered. That is work we need to do.

The Minister of State mentioned that there will be a reserve list. I will advocate for Kinsale hockey and the Saile project to be at the top of that list. Is it too late at this point for Cork County Council to come on board with that project as the main sponsor, as it was not there originally? Of the LSSIF projects, it is the one I would have loved to have seen succeed. We did not get one in west Cork, but I would love to have some light at the end of the tunnel for what would be an amazing multisport project. I acknowledge he mentioned multisport projects that were funded. I understand the GAA received between 36% and 37% of the LSSIF funding. Soccer was high as well at 25%. That is absolutely welcome as soccer needs investment as well, but those multisport facilities also need investment. Is there no chance a chunk of that €5.8 million will go there?

Deputy Thomas Byrne

That money has been allocated for drawdowns that were expected this year. Those are really grants from 2020. It is not realistic that anything we announced the other day will draw down before the end of the year from the LSSIF funding that we announced this year. It is money from the previous year. It is a matter for the Minister with the overall subheads, so maybe she wants to answer it. I was going to answer on the specifics of the LSSIF.

Deputy Catherine Martin

No, go ahead, that is fine.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

That is not money from sport today. It is money not drawn on previous projects, which is part of the issue, and part of the reason we brought in the use it or lose it clause. On Kinsale in particular, I visited the centre with the Acting Chairman so I am familiar with the project. We said that all valid applications will be placed on the reserve list. I can confirm that the Kinsale project is valid. That will be funded at some point, as funding becomes available. On the mechanics of that, what is happening at the moment is the Department is focusing on the grants and grant agreements that have been awarded. A lot of work has to be done to get these out. In the coming weeks, or in a few months, the exact process for the reserve list will be set out for those on it. I expect it will be a dynamic process. I am not talking specifically about Kinsale, but if a project without planning permission gets planning permission, it is envisaged that the Department would become aware of that, and it would change the matrix for that particular project in showing how deliverable it is. In some of those projects there are other issues such as own funding, and in some cases land ownership. There are people out there complaining that their project did not get the go-ahead when the people behind the project do not even own the land. There are lots of things like that, so we cannot just award funding to some of them.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan)

As I said, Cork County Council disappointingly did not put it forward as one of its projects. Is it too late for it to come on board?

Deputy Thomas Byrne

That was part of the application matrix and the scoring system. On the exact mechanics, I suppose there will be engagement between the Department and the associations or clubs. That will realistically be after Christmas. There is no point saying they will hear soon. There is other work to do, but the Kinsale application is valid and that is good news. They will be on the reserve list.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan)

I move to tourism. I see an allocation towards strategic tourism. It is a sector I have slight concerns about. I am from west Cork, where tourism and hospitality are the biggest indigenous employers. They are finding it difficult and are going through a tough time at the moment. Footfall from different parts of Europe appears to be down. Footfall from the UK appears to be down as well. We obviously had the debate about VAT. I know where I stood on that, but the cost of business is obviously quite high. A lot of hospitality businesses are finding it hard to make the margins to keep going and stay alive. What we really need here is a strategic approach to try to attract people from right across, to increase domestic tourism but also tourism from Europe, the US and the UK. Will the Minister comment on the overall strategy to ensure the future of a sector we are all proud of?

Deputy Catherine Martin

There is additional funding of €5.8 million for Tourism Ireland, which is about promoting the entire island to overseas visitors, including to our US, GB and European markets. I am targeting funding towards supporting the regions to ensure benefits of tourism as spread as widely as possible. In the budget, I announced I have retained funding that will allow Tourism Ireland to continue its major marketing campaigns overseas to ensure visitors continue to be attracted to holiday in Ireland. The funding I have retained for Fáilte Ireland will continue to work in the area of recruitment and retention and to support businesses where the recruitment and retention of staff continues to be an issue. Fáilte Ireland also has funding to support domestic marketing. This week we will publish the tourism strategy which puts emphasis on that domestic marketing as well because we need to increase that from the point of view of sustainability. On the €5.8 million we are discussing here, there is €2.25 million going to the Wild Atlantic Way ten-year anniversary. There is €730,000 going to the St Brigid's Day off-peak market. There is €1.6 million for Ireland: Home of Halloween. The inland cruise and sustainability promotion gets €250,000, the ferry access promotion gets €500,000 and there is €500,000 for Ireland in Germany. The Deputy can see where it is about promoting the island of Ireland, but he will see the domestic market feature heavily in the tourism strategy that will be published this week. It was agreed at Cabinet yesterday.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan)

Does the Minister or Minister of State have any further comments at this point?

Deputy Catherine Martin

I put on record my thanks to the committee and to all of the clerks to the committee. At this final meeting, I also thank everybody in my Department who do so much work behind the scenes in respect of all of our engagements. It has been a pleasure to work with each and every one in my Department.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan)

I will not be at the second session, so I add to the Minister's comments about the clerks to the committee and the staff here at the committee. They have been phenomenal and went above and beyond, especially during that period in 2023 when it was all day, every day and weekends. That has to be acknowledged.

That concludes the consideration of Vote 33.

In accordance with Standing Order 101, a message to that effect will be sent to the Clerk of the Dáil. On behalf of the committee, I thank the Minister, the Minister of State and their officials for their participation in this meeting.