Written Answers Nos. 219-227
219. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the degree to which she continues to support the arts throughout the country with particular reference to both amateur and professional given the need to recover from Covid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7320/24]
View answerUnder the Arts Act 2003, the Arts Council has primary responsibility for the development of the arts in Ireland. The Arts Council's commitment to the arts is provided for in its 10-years investment Strategy - Making Great Art Work.
Arts participation is a core value across all areas of the Arts Council's work and it is committed to increasing public engagement in the arts in Ireland. The Council provides financial support to a number of initiatives aimed at increasing public access, participation and engagement in the arts. Its festivals investment scheme, is specifically designed to support local and voluntary organisations to develop arts festivals. Funding is also provided to strategically funded arts organisations across all parts of the country
In addition the Arts Council invests funding in a range of developmental projects including Creative Schools, Creative Places, Creative Europe and Culture Night, and towards the Arts Council’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion plans. For example, Culture Night, in collaboration with RTÉ creates opportunities for artists at all levels. Details of all these programmes are available on the Arts Council's website.
In Budget 2024, I provided a record €134m funding for the Arts Council in recognition of the transformational impact of this funding and to support the sector.
A network of cultural infrastructure exists throughout the country with the majority in the ownership of local authorities. Annual support, including programming and revenue supports, is provided to arts centres by local authorities and the Arts Council. Arts Centres are where artists and audiences meet and this is a key part of the Arts Council strategy to invest in public engagement. My Department focuses on providing capital grant funding to assist and maintain these arts and cultural facilities. Funding is administered through applications received for specific Grant Schemes.
Within my Department, there are a number of measures in place to support the arts at amateur and professional levels and include:
• Annual funding is provided to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann for its work in the protection and promotion of Irish traditional music and culture.
• In 2024, €7.6m which is the highest level of funding for Culture Ireland since its establishment will support more Irish artists to launch and develop their careers on an international stage;
• The Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme is a three year, €105m scheme, involving 2,000 artists and creative arts workers nationwide
• Increased funding for the Safe to Create Programme, including Minding Creative Minds, that supports all artists and creatives;
• a new pilot capital support scheme for Arts, Culture and the Night Time Economy will support development of vibrant late night arts and culture scenes in Irish cities, towns and villages as well as additional capital to assist in the provision of building and equipment needs, artists’workspaces, and adapting facilities to reduce energy needs and carbon footprints.
• the Music Capital Scheme managed by Music Network provides funding for the purchase of musical instruments to both non-professional performing groups/ensembles and professional musicians.
• Creative Ireland Programme funding in 2023 is supporting the delivery of a number of creative projects nationwide including ones in County Kildare.
• funding is provided for cultural events such as St Patrick’s Festival, Other Voices, Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann that in turns helps to sustain the arts at all levels,
• In collaboration with the local authorities, Fáilte Ireland's regional festival scheme is available to local community festivals;
• a small-scale local festivals and summer schools scheme designed to support local cultural festivals and summer schools that are not be eligible under funding criteria for larger scale events supported by Fáilte Ireland, the Arts Council and similar bodies. The maximum funding available under this scheme is capped at €5,000;
• Tourism Ireland works with many festivals to provide exposure for them in key markets oversea.
• Some funding programmes within the Broadcasting and Gaeltacht areas also serve to promote many artists and creative talents from across the music sectors.
Finally, in response to Covid-19, capital funding was provided to local authorities to adapt, equip or otherwise improve public spaces for cultural and events activities as part of the pilot Outdoor Public Space Scheme 2021. These outdoor public spaces will provide year-round use and can improve well-being and contribute positively to the public realm.
220. 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 monitor the tourism sector with a view to ensuring that customers get the best value for money; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7321/24]
View answerIt is vital that the tourism sector keeps the value for money proposition to the fore across all its segments to ensure that our high quality reputation is maintained and that new and repeat visitors continue to come to Ireland. While Ireland is not a low-cost destination, the potential long term impacts need to be carefully considered by all tourism businesses in setting their prices. This is something which I discuss with the sector, including most recently at an in person meeting of the Hospitality and Tourism Forum, on 24 January 2024. I co-chair this forum with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
It is recognised that businesses continue to face significant cost pressures due to inflation and other economic factors. Rising costs however are not unique to the tourism industry and are a challenge for the wider economy. Businesses need to be able to make a sustainable trading margin but they must also pay attention to their pricing and how they can continue to deliver added value to ensure their long-term viability.
In this regard it is worth pointing to the Increased Costs of Business Scheme introduced by my colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the recent announcement by the Minister of Finance, Michael McGrath, of significant changes to the Tax Debt Warehousing scheme with a reduction in the interest rate applying to warehoused tax debt to 0%. Both these measures will be of direct benefit to a wide range of businesses within the tourism sector in terms of helping their own operational sustainability and, one would hope, in maintaining the best possible value for money proposition for their customers.
221. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media her views on the progress made within her Department on a short term lettings register; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7327/24]
View answerThe proposed Short Term Tourism Letting (STTL) Bill that will provide the statutory basis for the establishment of the STTL register is currently the subject of ongoing engagement with the EU Commission in accordance with the Technical Regulations Information System (TRIS) EU Directive 2015/1535.
The TRIS process requires EU Member States to notify the Commission of any draft technical regulations concerning products and information society services before they are adopted in national law. Such a notification triggers a standstill period during which the proposed Bill cannot be enacted.
On 22 March 2023, the EU Commission extended the standstill period until 22 December 2023 as it considered that the STTL Bill concerns a matter covered in part by the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of 7 November 2022 (EU STR).
On 15 November the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional political agreement on the EU STR proposal. It is understood that the proposal could be endorsed and formally adopted by both institutions by end March 2024.
This political agreement provides clarity as to the provisions within this new EU STR regulation. My Department has engaged extensively with the Commission in relation to the alignment of Ireland’s proposed STTL Bill and the EU STR once adopted. As part of this engagement, officials from my Department and from Fáilte Ireland met with representatives of the Commission in Brussels on 11 December 2023 and then, on 15 December, provided a formal response to the Commission’s communication of 22 March 2023.
On 9 February 2024, the Commission responded to note that the principles outlined in Ireland’s formal response appear to go in the right direction to ensure consistency with the principles of the EU STR Regulation but that some further consideration may be required to ensure complete alignment. My officials are due to meet with the Commission again the week commencing the 19 February to discuss its response and observations and to provide further clarifications on the proposed approach.
222. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the extent to which provision is being made to ensure that the hotel and leisure industry is adequately prepared for the tourist season both in terms of staff and accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7363/24]
View answerRecruitment and retention of staff in tourism, while showing improvement in 2023, continues to be a significant challenge for the tourism sector.
My Department and Fáilte Ireland continue to support the tourism industry to build the talent and skills it needs to remain profitable, competitive and resilient. A key priority in this regard is to support tourism businesses to adopt quality employment practices to ensure that the sector is recognised as a desirable and rewarding career choice, and that individuals working in it can continue to develop their own expertise, knowledge and skills to build a long-term and successful career.
The latest Fáilte Ireland research indicates that the recruitment and retention of staff within tourism, while still a challenge, has improved over the last year. My Department and Fáilte Ireland are working with industry and across Government to ensure a coordinated approach to addressing labour and skills shortages. This includes engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) to ensure that the current two-week processing time for work permits is maintained and to consider submissions made by industry for the review of the work permit occupations lists. For employees, hourly rates of pay have improved, compensation for working unsocial hours has become more common and job security has grown.
When we look at the wider economy and the particular set of challenges facing the tourism industry, it is clear that a collective and concerted multi-stakeholder approach to tackling these challenges is required and that is the approach my department and the government will continue to pursue.
Fáilte Ireland continues to support and promote employment and career progression in the industry by continuously developing and broadening the “Employer Excellence” programme, the online learning management system “LearniFI”, the tourismcareers.ie website and the Transition Year Work Placement programme. The “Employer Excellence” programme, for instance, is now open to all tourism businesses with five or more employees and the LeariFI platform facilitated the upskilling of more than 4,000 employees in key areas critical for business success.
Fáilte Ireland has conducted a number of Accommodation Audits to establish a baseline on existing tourism accommodation capacity for local authorities in each destination and region. This includes a quality and gap analysis for additional accommodation development on a county-by-county basis along with the projected accommodation requirements. Additional capacity supply growth projections have been identified for all counties based on best estimates of demand recovery to 2030, current gaps in the market by location and type, and changing consumer preferences for accommodation categories. These projections recommend a phased pipeline of new supply in line with location specific demand drivers based on identified gaps in the market. Full audits have been completed for 18 counties to date and have been issued to the relevant local authorities as they shape their own tourism accommodation strategies.
This year, Fáilte Ireland intends to secure services for the development of a monitoring system to track the pipeline of tourist accommodation in Ireland focussing on planning, construction commencement and opening phases of development. This will allow Fáilte Ireland to pinpoint challenges that exist in terms of the development of tourism accommodation and to measure the impact arising.
It is recognised that use of tourist accommodation to support the Government’s response to the humanitarian crisis has impacted the sector. The Government has agreed that a move from an emergency response to a more mainstreamed approach is appropriate, including through a reduced reliance on serviced accommodation, along with the development of other sources of accommodation such as refurbished properties, rapid builds and modular accommodation as part of the overall response to this humanitarian crisis, and the unprecedented numbers of people seeking asylum and refuge in Ireland.
My colleague, Minister O'Gorman, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, will be bringing a revised white paper to Cabinet regarding the provision of additional accommodation, whether State-owned or State-developed, to add to the existing accommodation stock for International Protection applicants. Additionally, his officials are engaging across Government on this issue via the interdepartmental Accommodation Working Group led by the Department of the Taoiseach and it is hoped that this approach will, over time, help to reduce the reliance on tourism accommodation.
223. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the extent to which she continues to support the tourism sector through the medium of Irish culture at home and abroad with particular reference to the needs of the industry in the present challenging times; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7364/24]
View answerAs Minister with responsibility for the tourism, arts and culture sectors, I recognise the valuable symbiotic relationship between these important elements of Irish society and identity.
Irish culture in its various forms - built heritage, the arts, cultural institutions, festivals - plays a very significant role in Ireland’s tourism offering and are among the primary motivators for international visitors to visit Ireland.
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 are a number of policy initiatives and strategies within the arts and culture division which have a direct positive impact on tourism activities:
• The allocation of €7.6million for Culture Ireland is the highest allocation in its history. As the agency that promotes Irish arts worldwide, it plays a central role in enhancing Ireland’s global reputation for cultural excellence.
• Cultivating Irish artistic and creative talent and enhancing 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, Screen Ireland and our NCIs as well as completing the Basic Income for the Arts initiative.
• Arising from the Night Time Economy Report, €1million in funding is in place to develop further cultural offerings and promote further visitor access to museum, galleries and cultural spaces.
For the tourism sector, in Budget 2024, I secured funding of €218million for tourism development at home and amongst overseas visitors. This is has also supported continued recovery in the sector.
The portrayal of culture and sport in Tourism Ireland’s marketing communications overseas can play an important role in helping potential visitors to envisage and appreciate some of the unique aspects of a holiday on the island of Ireland and recognise the island as a top location for cultural and sporting events.
There are several cultural initiatives undertaken within the tourism sector that directly support local tourism. These include:
• Fáilte Ireland designs and delivers a diverse portfolio of both Fáilte Ireland owned and co-created Festivals that are critical for developing tourism in rural areas. One of their hero Festivals, Púca was developed by Fáilte Ireland in partnership with local stakeholders in the Boyne Valley region.
• Co-created Festivals such as the St. Patrick’s Regional Festival (Cork, Killarney, Limerick and Waterford) and Global Irish Festival Series (Mayo, Kerry, Donegal and Limerick) are particularly important as they deliver on key tourism objectives such as regionality, seasonality and sustainable tourism development, while also increasing dwell time and economic impact.
• Ireland’s Regional Festival Scheme is available to local community festivals and is administered by the Local Authorities. Each Local Authority manages their own application and grant process, with schemes opening for applications typically in March/April on the Local Authority websites.
I will continue to ensure that the linkages between arts and culture and tourism are developed further. This will not only provide additional valuable support towards a sustainable tourism sector but also ensure employment opportunities for many Irish arts and tourism workers.
224. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the extent to which Ireland's traditional culture of welcome, friendship and support continues notwithstanding worldwide threats; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7365/24]
View answerAs the Deputy rightly notes, Ireland has long held a reputation for the warmth of its welcome to visitors. The famous céad míle fáilte that awaits visitors to Ireland, combined with the beauty of our landscape and the richness of our culture, are enduring strengths and have been instrumental in making tourism one of our most important economic sectors.
Our hospitality is a really important component of the holiday experience in Ireland for our overseas visitors and a key promotional theme for Tourism Ireland in all of our overseas markets. This year, Tourism Ireland’s Fill your heart with Ireland campaign is set to be expanded, with content focused on passion points such as built heritage, adventure, views and landscapes and enhanced Wild Atlantic Way content in support of its 10th anniversary.
All tourists are welcome no matter where they come from or how long they stay. However, the best way to deliver sustainable growth is by taking a strategic approach when exploring new marketing opportunities. Tourism Ireland will focus on tourists with ‘value adding tourism traits’ i.e., those with funds to travel, who prize memorable experiences and tend to travel around regions and across seasons. This approach is in line with the strategic direction of the new tourism policy framework that is being developed by my Department and due to be published in the Spring.
Tourism Ireland continue to leverage the motivators to travel to Ireland and the opportunities presented by key events and global opportunities. Tourism Ireland will continue to encourage regional spread and build seasonal landmark moments. Activities include promotions around St Brigid’s Day, a St Patrick’s Day campaign and a significant investment in the Home of Halloween campaign. In addition, Tourism Ireland will ensure that messaging appropriately and increasingly reflects the diverse and ever-changing variety of visitors to the island of Ireland.
While tourism faces many challenges, I am confident that our traditional virtues of support, friendship and welcome towards visitors will continue to be strong as ever and that the sector is well positioned to grow sustainably in the coming years. Our reputation as a destination matters and I am keen to ensure that these traditional virtues remain enduring strengths for the future.
225. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the extent to which it is intended to offer grant assistance to major and minor sporting activities throughout the country affecting all sporting activities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7366/24]
View answerCapital funding for sport is provided though the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF).
The Sports Capital and Equipment Programme is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998 bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.15 billion. The Programme for Government commits to continuing the SCEP and to prioritising investment in disadvantaged areas.
The latest round of the SCEP (2023) closed for applications on Friday 8 September, 2023. A preliminary examination of the submitted applications demonstrates that the Programme has again generated a very large number of applications. The total number of 3,210 applications exceeds the record number submitted under the last (2020) round.
The "Scoring System and Assessment Manual" for the 2023 round has been finalised and published along with a list of all applications received by county including the relevant sport type for each application received. The detailed assessment work has commenced and it is planned to assess the "equipment-only" applications first and announce these grants in the coming months. Work will then commence on assessing the capital applications with the allocations to be announced later.
The National Sports Policy which was published in 2018 provided for a new Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The aim of the fund is to provide Exchequer support for larger sports projects and facilities where the required Exchequer investment is greater than the maximum amount available under the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP).
In January 2020 allocations of €86.4 million in LSSIF funding were awarded to 33 different proposals. In December Minister Martin and I announced additional funding amounting to a total of €37.6 million, with 27 existing LSSIF projects benefitting, bringing the total awarded to date to LSSIF-funded projects to €124 million. This additional funding for projects was provided, in response to delays experienced by grantees arising from the pandemic and construction inflation.
Minister Martin and I have also confirmed that a new round of the LSSIF will open for applications in the first half of 2024, with the dates, terms and conditions to be published on the Department’s website in due course.
226. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the sporting organisations throughout the country, that were impeded from meeting their targets arising from previous sport grant allocations continue to be allowed to rearrange their schedules on foot of Departmental approval; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7367/24]
View answerThe Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. Over 13,000 projects have now benefited from sports capital funding since 1998 bringing the total allocations in that time to over €1.15 billion. The Programme for Government commits to continuing the SCEP and to prioritising investment in disadvantaged areas.
The National Sports Policy, which was published in 2018, provided for a new Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). The aim of the fund is to provide Exchequer support for larger sports projects and facilities where the required Exchequer investment is greater than the maximum amount available under the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme. In January 2020 allocations of €86.4 million in LSSIF funding were awarded to 33 different proposals.
Last December, in response to project delivery delays experienced by grantees arising from the pandemic and construction inflation, Minister Martin and I announced additional funding of €37.6 million for 27 of those LSSIF projects.
My Department understands the challenges facing sports clubs and organisations arising from the pandemic and, more recently, construction cost inflation and will continue to show flexibility in the administration of grant funding under both the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme and the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund, subject to engagement with the Department by those allocated funding.
227. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the efforts currently in hand to ensure the availability of adequate tourist accommodation in all areas throughout the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7389/24]
View answerI am advised that Fáilte Ireland has completed a number of Accommodation Audits to establish a baseline on existing tourism accommodation capacity for local authorities in each destination and region. This includes a quality and gap analysis for additional accommodation development on a county-by-county basis along with the projected accommodation requirements. Additional capacity supply growth projections have been identified for all counties based on best estimates of demand recovery to 2030, current gaps in the market by location and type, and changing consumer preferences for accommodation categories. These projections recommend a phased pipeline of new supply in line with location specific demand drivers based on identified gaps in the market.
Full audits have been completed for 18 counties to date, as follows: Clare, Donegal, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Mayo, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Dublin, Cork, Roscommon, Galway, Longford and Offaly. These audits have been issued to the relevant local authorities which will support them as they shape their own tourism accommodation strategies.
This year, Fáilte Ireland intends to secure services for the development of a monitoring system to track the pipeline of tourist accommodation in Ireland focussing on planning, construction commencement and opening phases of development. This will allow Fáilte Ireland to pinpoint challenges that exist in terms of the development of tourism accommodation and to measure the impact arising.
I acknowledge that a significant level of tourist accommodation is taken up as part of the Government’s response to the humanitarian crisis. The Government has agreed that a move from an emergency response to a more mainstreamed approach is appropriate, including through a reduced reliance on serviced accommodation, along with the development of other sources of accommodation such as refurbished properties, rapid builds and modular accommodation as part of the overall response to this humanitarian crisis, and the unprecedented numbers of people seeking asylum and refuge in Ireland.
My colleague, Minister O'Gorman, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, will be bringing a revised white paper to Cabinet regarding the provision of additional accommodation, whether State-owned or State-developed, to add to the existing accommodation stock for International Protection applicants. Additionally, his officials are engaging across Government via the interdepartmental Accommodation Working Group, led by the Department of the Taoiseach on this issue and it is hoped that this approach will, over time, help to reduce the reliance on tourism accommodation.
