Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 November 2016
446. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if she explored other methods of incentivising investment into the cultural sector apart from direct State funding; and if so, the details and timelines on these. [37091/16]
View answerPrivate support for the arts is an important funding source and the Government continues to support this through tax incentives and other initiatives. The Programme for a Partnership Government contains a commitment to encourage strong, mutually beneficial links between the business community and the arts community to assist arts organisations to capitalise on sponsorship opportunities and to develop business partnerships and fundraising skills. In this regard, I recognise the important work carried out by Business to Arts for which my Department provides a small amount of assistance.
In addition, the Arts Council operates the RAISE programme, which seeks to enhance fund-raising skills in arts organisations with a view to diversifying the sector's sources of funding. It is designed to assist the sector in securing philanthropic contributions to the arts in Ireland.
In terms of other capital investment requiring co-funding, my Department is currently assessing applications under a new €9 million investment scheme for arts and cultural centres to run over the next three years, focused on upgrading the existing stock of such centres around the country. The funding, which is being made available as part of the Capital Investment Framework 2016-2021, will be dependent on matching funding being secured by project promoters and will therefore provide an opportunity for philanthropists to involve themselves in the arts.
