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Arts Council Funding

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 September 2017

Wednesday, 27 September 2017

Questions (71)

Niamh Smyth

Question:

71. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department will support the Arts Council to move to a longer term funding model for smaller arts organisations as recently discussed in the media. [40729/17]

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Written answers

I understand that the Deputy may be referring to the new funding framework(Making Great Art Work Funding Framework)as recently announced by the Arts Council. The Arts Council is statutorily independent in relation to its funding and executive decisions.

The strategic context for the Arts Council’s support of arts participation and all other artforms and areas of arts practice is set out in Making Great Art Work: Arts Council Strategy (2016 –2025). A key commitment in the Council's Three-Year Plan 2017–2019 was to review its funding programmes, schemes and initiatives under its Making Great Art Work priorities. Such a review would assist the Council in how it invests in art and arts practice in a more effective way. It would also help streamline the supports available to artists and to arts organisations, and simplify and clarify the application, assessment and decision-making processes operated by the Council. The Making Great Art Work Funding Framework was the outcome of this review. Further details of the funding framework can be accessed on the Arts Council's website.

I will continue to support the Arts Council, as set out in the Programme for a Partnership Government, which contained a commitment to work to progressively increase funding to the arts, including the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board, as the economy continues to improve. To this effect in Budget 2017, I secured significant additional funding for the Arts Council. The increase in the Arts Council's allocation in 2017 is €5 million, or 8%. This will assist the Council greatly in implementing its 10-year strategy Making Great Art Work (2016-2025) including under its new funding framework .

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