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Cultural Policy

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 November 2018

Thursday, 15 November 2018

Questions (27)

Niamh Smyth

Question:

27. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the reason for the delay in the publication of the final Culture 2025 policy document; when it will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47404/18]

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Written answers

In July 2016 my predecessor, Minister Humphreys, published the draft framework policy document Éire Ildánach/Culture 2025. This underwent a round of consultations, with submissions received from Government Departments, local authorities, and cultural bodies and stakeholders in the cultural sector, and was very useful in setting the scene for many of these bodies to develop their own cultural strategies. The draft framework policy was submitted to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in July 2016, who published its 'Report on Culture 2025 – Éire Ildánach, Framework Policy to 2025' in July 2017.

My Department is now finalising the framework policy. In this regard, the Joint Oireachtas Committee made a number of very good suggestions including in relation to how the policy document should be reshaped. My Department has taken time to give careful consideration to these suggestions.

In addition, the Creative Ireland Programme, which was launched in December 2016, restated the key aims and values set out in the draft Culture 2025 document but took these a stage further in terms of setting out key deliverable actions both in year 1 and over a 5 year period. In effect, the Creative Ireland Programme has become the main implementation vehicle for many of the priorities identified in the Culture 2025. In this regard, the main emphasis of the Department during 2017 was to get the Creative Ireland Programme up and running. Since then my Department has been working to align the final Culture 2025 document with other concurrent policy documents, including the proposed new heritage plan for Ireland, Heritage Ireland 2030, the public consultation on which I launched at the start of this month.

It is important however, notwithstanding the significant achievements under the Creative Ireland Programme, that Culture 2025 will remain as a broad overarching policy document for culture setting out the strategic aims of Government for future years. My intention is therefore to complete this work for final signoff very shortly and to bring Culture 2025 to Government for approval and subsequent publication.

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