Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 September 2017
60. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the assistance her Department is providing to rural counties such as Sligo and Leitrim in order to increase participation in arts and culture; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40716/17]
View answerFunding for the arts at all levels is primarily a matter for the Arts Council. I secured significant additional funding for the Arts Council in Budget 2017. 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) across the country.
The Creative Ireland Programme – Clár Éire Ildánach 2017 – 2022 was launched on the 8 December 2016. Funding of €5m for the implementation of the programme was provided in Budget 2017.
This is a cross-Government initiative to mainstream culture and creativity in the life of the nation and to promote individual, community and national well-being. This will focus on boosting cultural provision and participation in communities and harnessing the goodwill and engagement generated by the 2016 commemorative programme.
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
Under the 2nd Pillar - Enabling creativity in every community - each local authority, with the support of my Department, has now established a Culture Team bringing together arts officers, librarians, heritage officers, museum curators, archivists and other relevant personnel led by a Director of Services, with a nominated person as 'Creative Ireland Co-ordinator'.
In terms of capital investment, in February this year I announced details of more than €9 million in funding for existing dedicated arts and culture centres across the country. The Arts and Culture Capital Scheme 2016-2018 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. Under Streams 1 & 2 of this scheme the Hawk's Well Theatre, Sligo was awarded funding of €550,000. The Dock, in partnership with Leitrim County Council, was awarded funding of over €178,000 and North Leitrim Glens were awarded €50,000.
In August I announced further capital funding of almost €750,000 for more than 60 arts organisations around the country under Stream 3 of the Arts and Culture Capital Scheme. This scheme is geared towards providing capital grants of up to €20,000 to not-for-profit organisations with a defined arts and cultural remit. Under this stream Anaglyph Ltd (Leitrim Sculpture Centre) in Leitrim was awarded €20,000, while the Michael Coleman Heritage Centre CCE and Teach Morrison Outreach Centre CCE, both in Sligo, were awarded €20,000 and €7,550 respectively.
A full list of successful projects under the Arts and Culture Capital Scheme 2016-2018 (Streams 1, 2 & 3) is available on the Department’s website at: http://www.chg.gov.ie/arts/creative-arts/grants-and-funding/
