Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 March 2022
296. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if a review has been conducted or will be conducted of the initial Creative Ireland Programme to ascertain the most effective aspects of the programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10968/22]
View answerIn December 2016, a new all-of-Government initiative entitled Clár Éire Ildánach/Creative Ireland Programme 2017-2022 was approved as a legacy project arising from the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme. I believe significant progress has been made to date to support each citizen realise their creative potential and to mainstream creativity into public policy across Government Departments through the Programme 2017-2022.
The Programme commissioned a range of research and evaluation reports since 2017 to inform policy and strategy development, facilitate decision-making, and to build capacity within the sector. In light of the diverse nature of the various pillars of the Programme, a more nested and focused approach of research and evaluation has been employed at the level of programme pillar and key individual intervention. Many of these are published at www.creativeireland.gov.ie/en/publications/.
Over 30 interventions are reporting outcomes and evaluations from the first five years of implementation of the Creative Youth plan (including Creative Schools, Creative Clusters, and Local Creative Youth Partnerships). Furthermore in November 2021, Trinity College Dublin were commissioned to provide an overview of these outcomes and trends, highlight significant gaps in provision, and assist the independent Creative Youth Expert Advisory Group to develop its proposals for future policy development in this regard.
In 2021, a strategic review of the Creative Communities initiative led by the Creative Ireland Programme and the County and City Management Association was published. It examined the effectiveness to date in embedding creativity within public policy at local level, and in deploying creativity as a strategy for wellbeing, social cohesion and economic development. While broadly positive in its findings, the review also explored how delivery in collaboration with the 31 local authorities could be optimised in the future. These recommendations continue to be implemented as the initiative looks towards the period 2023-2027.
Key research continues too in the area of Creativity in Older Age with, for example, Trinity College Dublin and the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing to determine the extent and impact of participation in creative activities by older people. Similarly, postdoctoral research will develop a framework to explore and assess the contribution of Creative Climate Action projects toward societal transformation in response to climate change. It will also provide recommendations and guidance for Irish policy-makers concerning how creative interventions might be designed to more effectively encourage climate compatible behavioural change in the future.
While the first 5-year Creative Ireland Programme was envisaged as a time-bound addition to the Irish policy landscape, the second phase of the programme clearly operates in a different policy context. I am therefore keen that as part of the development process currently underway for the Creative Ireland Programme 2023-2027, a set of performance indicators is explored that will form the basis for monitoring the outputs and evaluating the programme’s operation and its impact on Irish society.
