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Universal Basic Income

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 October 2021

Tuesday, 19 October 2021

Questions (400)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

400. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the way she plans to fund the €66.7 million worth of new schemes outlined in budget 2022, including €25 million each in new funding for the pilot basic income scheme and live entertainment supports and extra supports for audio visual arts, national cultural institutions and night-time culture, given that the current expenditure for the arts and culture programme is only set to increase by €200,000 from 2021 to 2022; and the person or body that will have their funding cut from 2021 to make up the difference. [50745/21]

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Written answers

I have secured significant allocations in Budget 2022 which will allow my Department to:

- Introduce a pilot Basic Income Guarantee scheme for Artists with funding of €25m

- Continue and expand its support of arts, artists and the arts sector as a whole including maintaining funding of €130m for the Arts Council

- Provide supports of €25m for the live entertainment industry

- Enhance support to the National Cultural Institutions with an additional €5m

- €4m to support initiatives for the Night-time Economy

- Increase support for the audio visual industry with a €6.65m increase to over €36.7m for Screen Ireland

- An increase of €1.5m for the Creative Ireland Programme

- €4.6m for Culture Ireland and

- €5m for the 2022 Commemorations Programme

Funding for all the organisations and State bodies funded under the Culture Programme has been either increased or maintained at 2021 levels.  For example funding for the Arts Council was maintained at the current record level of €130m. This will empower the Arts Council to help artists, arts workers and arts flourish again in Ireland.

As part of Budget 2022 I have allocated €25m for continuing supports for the Live Entertainment Sector.  While the equivalent figure for 2021 was €50m this reflects the fact that during 2021 the country was subject to significant levels of restrictions with either no live performance or very small numbers permitted for the period January to September and as a result significant levels of subvention for the commercial sector was required to protect the viability of the sector. 

At present, the expectation is that such significant restrictions won't be required in 2022 and therefore lower levels of subvention may be required when the sector returns to full capacity.  Of course, the Government is aware both that it will take time for the sector to return to full capacity and that Covid restrictions could become necessary again in 2022.  To this end, as part of Budget 2022, my colleague Pascal Donohoe T.D., Minister for Finance, has created a Covid contingency fund of €4bn for next year.  This fund will provide certainty and flexibility for the public finances should the situation with the virus deteriorate unexpectedly over the coming year.

The funding I am allocating for 2022 will be used to support artists, arts organisations and the live entertainment sector emerge from the Covid-19 crisis, and it will ensure that people right across the country can continue to engage with the arts in 2022 and beyond.

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