Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 September 2013
763. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which he has identified the availability of funding from EU sources for the promotion and development of festivals throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38830/13]
View answerAs I have informed the Deputy previously, there are two programmes operated by the European Union in the areas for which I have responsibility. These are the Media Programme and the Culture Programme and both run from 2007 to 2013 inclusive.
The Media Programme is the EU support programme for the European audiovisual industry and details in this regard, including in relation to the operation of the programme and the funding provided, are available at www.mediadeskireland.ie .
The Culture Programme is the EU support programme for organisations working in the field of culture. Assistance and information is available to arts and culture practitioners who wish to apply for grants under the Culture Programme from the European Cultural Contact Point (CCP) Ireland. The CCP provides information, advice and technical assistance to anyone in Ireland interested in applying to the European Commission for such funding. It also provides additional information and assistance which might help to establish links and partnerships with colleagues in Europe and beyond. All details are available from a dedicated website at www.ccp.ie.
The way the programmes operate is that periodically there are calls for proposals from the European Commission seeking applications for support under the two programmes. The applications are then assessed by an independent body, the Executive Agency for Education, Audiovisual and Culture. Decisions on what support is provided are based on the merits of the applications: there is no quota for each country or no amount allocated to each country.
There is further comprehensive information available on all projects which received funding across the Union at the website: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/index_en.htm
Under the Irish Presidency of the European Union, in the first six months of this year, detailed discussions were held between the Member States, the European Commission and the European Parliament on a new framework programme for the cultural and creative sectors. This will run from 2014 to 2020 and will be called the Creative Europe Programme. It includes a proposal to amalgamate the current Culture and MEDIA programmes under a common framework and create an entirely new facility to improve access to finance. It is hoped that the new programme will be finalised shortly under the Lithuanian Presidency.
