Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 February 2010
375 Deputy Liz McManus asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the cross-Border programmes, initiatives, areas of co-operation and so on which his Department is engaging in or is about to engage in with its counterparts in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7616/10]
View answerThe Department is engaging or about to engage with Northern Ireland authorities in respect of a range of cross-border programmes, initiatives and areas of co-operation, as set out below.
Arts/Culture
The Department operates a grant scheme to support cultural co-operation with Northern Ireland, in which projects are funded which seek to enhance, celebrate, commemorate or promote the artistic, musical, film and cultural heritage of the island of Ireland on a North/South basis. Applications for the 2010 scheme, which has a budget of €200,000, are currently being considered by the Department.
In addition, Culture Ireland, which forms part of the Department, has been involved in the co-location by Ireland and Northern Ireland of national pavilions and joint promotion initiatives at the Venice Art Biennale 2007 and 2009.
Sport
A number of recent meetings have taken place between the Department and the Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure to discuss sporting issues of mutual interest.
Tourism
North South cooperation on tourism has been ongoing for a number of years and continues on a regular basis between the relevant Departments North and South and the respective tourism agencies.
Tourism was specifically identified in the Good Friday Agreement as an area of co-operation. The establishment of Tourism Ireland as a North/South body responsible for marketing the island of Ireland overseas has been an impressive example of the tangible benefits to be achieved from closer, more structured economic collaboration on this island. Since assuming full responsibility for marketing the island overseas in the 2001/2002 period, Tourism Ireland has grown to become a professional, sophisticated international marketing organisation which is widely respected by its peers and the international tourism and travel trade in its main markets.
There have been regular meetings of the North-South Ministerial Council in Tourism Sectoral format since the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly. The most recent one was held in Co. Tyrone on 16 December 2009, at which Tourism Ireland's Business Plan for 2010 was considered. This Plan sets ambitious targets for returning to growth for tourism to the island of Ireland in 2010. Further Tourism Sectoral meetings will be held later this year.
The Department also participates in the Northwest Gateway Initiative, as announced at the British-Irish Inter-governmental Conference in May 2006. The Initiative is designed to provide a comprehensive framework from which further planning and collaborative action can be co-ordinated at central and local government level to maximise the potential of the North West region. One of the key elements of the initiative is to create a framework for economic development on a cross-Border basis, of which tourism is a key component.
In addition, the Department is represented on the INTERREG IVA Monitoring Committee and Priority 1 Steering Committee, as managed by the Special European Union Programmes Body. The INTERREG IVA Programme is the Cross-Border Territorial Co-operation Programme for Northern Ireland, the Border Region and Western Scotland, having the overall aim of supporting strategic cross-border co-operation, including in tourism, for a more prosperous and sustainable region.
I remain fully committed to the development of North/South co-operation at all levels, and I am ready to support any new opportunities that may emerge in this regard in the future.
