Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 December 2023
289. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the degree to which she continues to engage with cultural groups of local and national importance throughout the country and County Kildare with a view to maximisation of culture as a means of promoting business and boosting the economy at local and national level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53863/23]
View answer290. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the extent to which she and her office continue to encourage cultural projects at local and national level with a view to ensuring maximisation of economic benefit through the medium of culture and tourism; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53864/23]
View answer291. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the extent to which she and her Department continue to encourage all forms of the arts including the stage and film industry, local voluntary groups and those interested in the promotion of the arts at amateur and local level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53865/23]
View answer292. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the extent to which opportunities continue to exist for philanthropists to engage in and support the arts nationally and locally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53866/23]
View answer297. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the measures she continues to take to encourage the growth of and further development of the film industry here, both indigenous and international; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53871/23]
View answer298. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the extent to which this country remains an attractive base for film location; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53872/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 289 to 292, inclusive, 297 and 298 together.
In Budget 2024, I secured a total of €367.406m for Arts and Culture an increase of €10.424m from €356.982m in 2023. The Arts Council received an increase of €4m, with increases of €1.5m and €1m to Screen Ireland and Culture Ireland respectively. There has been sustained investment in arts and culture in recent years and I was very pleased to secure this level funding in 2024, which will support new and existing initiatives.
The Creative Ireland Programme is a culture-based initiative within my Department designed to promote individual, community and national wellbeing. Under its Creative Communities initiative, in conjunction with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, it has allocated over €29 million from 2018 to 2022 to the 31 local authorities to empower and support community-led participation. Creative Communities delivers investment directly into local creative economies through their local authorities, and this includes an allocation to Kildare County Council for 2023.
Under the Arts Act 2003, the Arts Council has primary responsibility for the development of the arts in Ireland. The Council works under its 10-year Strategy to address its statutory remit through a policy-driven focus on investment, advice, advocacy and partnership. The Council continues to invest in the development of the arts and artists countrywide including Co Kildare.
The Department for Rural and Community Development is currently developing a National Philanthropy Policy. The policy aims to set out specific actions to enable philanthropy to grow and thrive in Ireland for social good. Once finalised, it will identify the supports required for the sector to thrive and maximise its potential. One of the key objectives of the new strategy will be around strengthening Government and Sectoral partnerships.
The Arts Council operates the RAISE programme, which seeks to enhance fund-raising skills in arts organisations with a view to diversifying the sector's sources of funding. It is designed to assist the sector in securing philanthropic contributions to the arts in Ireland. My Department provides supports to Business to Arts in relation to advancing philanthropy and sustainability of cultural organisations.
The Audio-visual Action Plan was launched in June 2018. This is an industry-wide, long-term plan, under the Creative Ireland Programme, developed to support the Government’s ambition to enable Ireland to become a global hub for the production of film, TV drama and animation.
The tax incentive for the screen industries, Section 481, has been a cornerstone of the Irish screen industry in the creative and cultural value it has generated, both in terms of discovering and supporting new Irish voices, as well as showcasing Ireland’s power as an international partner, a cultural force across film, television and animation, not to mention a breath-taking location offering historic and natural beauty making it an attractive base for film locations.
Screen Ireland is the national development agency for Irish filmmaking and the Irish film, television and animation industry, investing in talent, creativity and enterprise. The agency supports writers, directors and production companies across these sectors by providing investment loans for the development, production and distribution of film, television and animation projects.
I would like to advise the Deputy of my Department's Statement of Strategy 2023 - 2025,. The mission of my Department is to lead the sustainable development of Tourism, Media and the Gaeltacht and promote participation in the Culture, Arts, and Sports sectors and the Irish language, supporting social progress, and enhancing cultural and economic growth across Irish society. The arts and cultural goal here is to support and develop engagement with, and in arts, culture and creativity by individuals and communities thereby enriching lives through cultural and creative activity; to promote Ireland’s arts, culture and creativity globally; and to drive a more vibrant and diverse Night-Time Economy. This covers a number of relevant policy areas:
- Cultivate Irish artistic and creative talent and enhance Ireland’s reputation as a hub of artistic excellence. This is being achieved through sustained levels of funding made available for Arts Council, Culture Ireland, Creative Ireland and our NCIs as well as completing the Basic Income for the Arts initiative.
- Securing and upgrading a viable and sustainable network of arts and cultural infrastructure through continued investment.
- Have updated policy and legislative framework in place to support the development of the arts and culture sector. This will be achieved through reviewing the policy and legislative contexts for culture.
- Oversee the conclusion of the Decade of Centenaries commemorative programme and address ongoing and future commemorative activities.
- Aim to have more sustainable and low carbon cultural and creative sector with the enhanced engagement of the public.
- Under the Shared Island programme, support initiatives by civil society, the community sector, and the arts and cultural sector, aimed at promoting constructive and inclusive dialogue around all island issues.
I am looking forward to working to advance this important work for the benefit of people and communities across Ireland through the coming years, with the help of our partners and stakeholders.
