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Arts Funding

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 March 2017

Tuesday, 7 March 2017

Questions (388)

Joan Burton

Question:

388. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if the Government will commit to the long-term goal of increasing arts funding to the European average of 0.6% of GDP. [11678/17]

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Written answers

I understand that the source of the reference quoted by the Deputy is a Council of Europe research project and that many European countries, including ten EU member states, are not included in the data.

I understand also that the data is not standardised and is not comparable across countries. For example, local authority expenditure on the arts, the artists' exemption tax relief, expenditure on public service broadcasting and the Irish language are not included in the figures for Ireland but comparable figures are included in the data for some other countries.

I have previously stated that further research on this issue is warranted. The issue of a definition of culture and of capturing public expenditure on culture is an element of the draft Culture 2025 framework policy, which was sent to the Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs for input in July 2016.

However, this Government is committed to increasing provision for arts and culture in Ireland. The Taoiseach and I launched the Creative Ireland Programme – Clár Éire Ildánach 2017 – 2022 on the 8 December 2016. This is a cross-Government initiative to mainstream culture and creativity in the life of the nation and to promote individual, community and national wellbeing. This will focus on boosting cultural provision and participation in communities and harnessing the goodwill and engagement generated by the 2016 commemorative programme.

The core proposition of this programme is that participation in cultural activity drives personal and collective creativity, with significant implications for individual and societal wellbeing and achievement. The Creative Ireland Programme is the main implementation vehicle for the priorities identified in Culture 2025/Éire Ildánach, the draft cultural policy which I published last year and which sees a vibrant cultural ecosystem as essential to society.

The programme is based on five pillars:

- Enabling the creative potential of every child

- Enabling creativity in every community

- Investing in our creative and cultural infrastructure

- Establishing Ireland as a centre of excellence in media production

- Unifying our global reputation

The Creative Ireland Programme is supported by significant additional resources which are being directed towards the arts and culture sector. In Budget 2017 I secured significant additional funding for the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board. The increase in the Arts Council's allocation in 2017 is €5 million, or 8%, and will assist the Council greatly in implementing its 10-year strategy Making Great Art Work (2016-2025). I also secured an increase of €2 million for the Irish Film Board, representing a 14% increase in its annual budget.

Budget 2017 also includes:

- increased funding for all of the National Cultural Institutions;

- an increase of €1 million for Culture Ireland;

- an additional €1 million to the Heritage Council; and

- funding of €5m for the implementation of the Creative Ireland Programme.

I also recently announced details of more than €9 million in capital funding for existing dedicated arts and culture centres across the country. The Creative Ireland Arts and Culture Capital Scheme is the most significant investment in arts and cultural centres in a decade and will target investment at a range of different facilities, including arts centres, theatres, galleries and museums, as well as artists’ studios and creative spaces. This kind of investment is at the centre of what I am trying to achieve through Creative Ireland Programme and the Action Plan for Rural Development

All of this represents real and substantial funding increases across the arts and cultural area and has been welcomed across the sector. It re-affirms the commitment of this Government to progressively increase funding for the arts as the economy improves, as set out in the Programme for a Partnership Government.

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