The COVID-19 crisis gives rise to many challenges for the nation as a whole and is having an unprecedented impact on the arts, culture, heritage and Gaeltacht sectors. While the full financial and economic implications of the crisis are not yet known, the impact on the sectors supported by the Department may extend well past the lifting of any COVID-19 restrictions.
Since the advent of the crisis, officials from my Department have been actively engaging with all sectors and continue to meet with those organisations under the aegis of the Department, as well as a broad range of sectorial stakeholders across all policy areas.
A number of initial support measures have been initiated by my Department, none of which require enactment of primary legislation and the Department continues to engage across its sectors on the range of cross-Government supports that are available as well as engaging on the challenges that are facing individual sectors.
Details of supports for the culture sector are available on my Department's Website at
https://www.chg.gov.ie/covid19-supports-for-artists/
Details of those supports put in place by State Agencies under my Department's remit can be accessed on their respective websites, as listed in the following table:
Body
|
Details available at:
|
Arts Council
|
http://www.artscouncil.ie
|
Screen Ireland
|
https://www.screenireland.ie/
|
Heritage Council
|
http://www.heritagecouncil.ie
|
Údarás na Gaeltachta
|
http://www.udaras.ie/
|
Waterways Ireland
|
https://www.waterwaysireland.org/
|
Foras na Gaeilge
|
http://www.forasnagaeilge.ie/
|
My Department will continue to engage with the agencies under its remit and other sectorial stakeholders to ensure that there is a high level of awareness of the supports that are available and to ensure that optimal use is made of available resources to best support the sector at this challenging time.