Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 September 2020
344. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht her plans to bring forward legislative proposals relating to a policy on meanwhile use to facilitate the temporary conversion of vacant buildings to cultural uses prior to redevelopment which exists in other jurisdictions and which was outlined in the programme for Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21097/20]
View answerThe Programme for Government contains a number of proposals under the heading Creative and Cultural Infrastructure which are listed as follows
- “ Examine ‘Agent of Change’ initiatives, whereby existing cultural spaces have to be taken into account when building is taking place.
- Support measures to increase the provision of affordable workspaces for artists and creative practitioners.
- Examine ‘meanwhile use’ legislation for vacant buildings, with a view to its potential application in Ireland.
- Ensure the timely delivery of arts and culture capital investment commitments, including our National Cultural Institutions, as outlined in Project Ireland 2040.”
Progress is on-going in relation to provision of workspaces for artists and creative practitioners as well as delivery of the arts and culture capital infrastructure set out in Project Ireland 2040. Funding has been made available under the National Development Plan for a culture and creativity investment programme. This investment programme is closely aligned with the Creative Ireland Programme and includes a range of investments in regional arts and culture facilities which include a number of artists’ workspace projects among other initiatives.
Based on this investment we can expect to see the delivery of significant redevelopments our National Cultural Institutions. 2020 will see the delivery of a further phase of the redevelopment at the National Library of Ireland, as well as the commencement of the major construction phase of the National Archives project. This is in addition to a range of preparatory, investigative and enabling works at a number of other NCIs. There will also be investments in regional arts and culture facilities.
My Department has allocated up to €3 million to Dublin City Council for capital development of studio workspaces to match funding provided under the urban regeneration development fund on sites owned by the city council. This level of investment will be of significant benefit to artists in the area and address the deficit in artist workspaces in Dublin city. The local authorities also have important functions with respect to artist studios and spaces.
The term ‘meanwhile use’ of buildings refers to the short-term use of temporarily empty buildings such as shops until they can be brought back into commercial use. The landlord would continue to look for a new commercial occupant for the space during meanwhile use. While legislation on this particular issue will not be a matter for my Department, I am committed to ensuring that all measures set out in the Programme for Government in respect of Creative and Cultural Infrastructure are implemented in full, and I intend to work with colleagues across Government to deliver on this important agenda.
