Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 March 2013
11. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the way he expects the philanthropy initiative 2013 and the arts in education charter, launched recently by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn to facilitate and support art education is schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13131/13]
View answer26. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if his attention has been drawn to the philanthropy initiative 2013 whereby organisations and schools wishing to avail of funding under the scheme have to match €1 of taxpayer money with €2 from private sector funding has the potential to exclude schools and organisations in disadvantaged areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13132/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 26 together.
I recently announced a new Philanthropy Initiative for 2013. This initiative is designed to encourage philanthropic sponsorship and endowment funding of the arts from private sources and to maximise investment in the arts by unlocking many multiples of the funding put up by the taxpayer. It also provides an incentive to arts organisations to proactively seek new and multi-annual relationships with sponsors which deliver private sector financial support, thereby increasing overall funding available to the arts.
This year, €210,000 will be available to arts organisations under the scheme. The terms of the scheme allow arts and culture organisations to apply to the Philanthropy Initiative for funding if they can generate funding from the private sector by philanthropy or fundraising in the following ratios:
- Up to €5,000 of funds can be accessed through the scheme if the organisation can match each €1 from the taxpayer with €2 from private sector funding;
- Up to €10,000 can be accessed if each €1 from the taxpayer can be matched by €3 from private sector funding;
- Up to €15,000 can be accessed if each €1 from the taxpayer can be matched by €4 from private sector funding.
The application form is available on my Department's website and applications are dealt with on a first-come-first-served basis. The application form includes a provision that in the event of multiple applications competing for limited grant allocation, priority will be given to Arts in Education projects aimed at disadvantaged (DEIS) schools.
This year, the majority of the Philanthropy Initiative funding will be directed towards arts and culture organisations seeking support for projects that include an education component. This is designed to support another of my policy initiatives - the Arts in Education Charter, launched recently by myself and my colleague, Minister Ruairi Quinn TD, Minister for Education and Skills. The Charter sets out a range of actions to be undertaken by our two Departments, the cultural institutions, the Arts Council and arts organisations. In 2013, I hope that the Philanthropy Initiative, while continuing to provide an incentive to arts organisations to engage in fundraising, will also encourage arts and culture organisations to engage creatively with children and young people and add to their education. In doing so, they will be helping to foster the artists and the audiences of the future.
The 2012 Philanthropy initiative exceeded all expectations and gives an example of how the careful targeting of taxpayer funding can produce very good value for money. It was anticipated that for every €1 of public money invested, private sector funds of €2.50 could be generated. At the end of 2012, the scheme was reviewed and the results indicated that it had exceeded all expectations by unlocking 70% more private sector funding than had been anticipated. The arts got a boost of over €1 million last year, of which less than one-fifth came from the public purse. A full list of awards under this scheme can be viewed on my Department's website at www.ahg.gov.ie
