Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 July 2016
420. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to work with the Minister for Health to develop and roll out an arts and health strategy across acute and children’s hospitals and across the community health sector; and the other innovative approaches that are being considered to use the arts as a means to promote well-being across society. [19829/16]
View answerUnder the Arts Act 2003, primary responsibility for the promotion of the arts at all levels throughout the country is devolved to the Arts Council. The Arts Council is the main channel of the State's current expenditure on the arts and will receive over €60 million in 2016. Issues in relation to the health services are a matter for the Minister for Health.
The Arts Council's ten-year strategy Making Great Art Work (2016-2025) set outs how it will lead the development of all aspects of the arts in Ireland over the next decade. The five high-level values of the Strategy include a comment to excellence as well as respect for diversity of artistic practice, of public engagement, and of social and cultural traditions.
The Programme for a Partnership Government also commits to the publication of Culture 2025 as a priority. My Department is continuing to consider inputs on the draft document from the Steering and Expert Groups which I established and I expect to forward a draft for consideration to the relevant Oireachtas Committee shortly.
This first such policy will be a living document and will form the basis of an on-going dialogue with all who are interested in cultural policy. Both the new Arts Council Strategy and the evolving Culture 2025 policy provide platforms to deepen engagement across all sectors in society, including the health sector.
