Vol. 455 No. 8
24 Mr. Haughey asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if national lottery funding is made available to his Department to finance a scheme of grants; and if he will give details of this funding and the procedures involved for application. [13089/95]
Since 1988, funds from the national lottery have been allocated to my Department for the promotion of Irish cultural activities abroad. In 1995, these amounted to £220,000 while the Exchequer supplemented the lottery allocation by £180,000, bringing the total allocation for cultural relations with other countries to £400,000.
The purpose of the allocation is to enable the Department to carry out or to give financial support to Irish cultural projects of a high artistic standard with a view to the enhancement of Ireland's image and reputation abroad and the promotion of friendly relations and of mutual knowledge and understanding with other countries.
Decisions on the disbursement of this allocation are made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs on the basis of recommendations from the Cultural Relations Committee, a voluntary advisory body of persons of distinction in the artistic and cultural fields.
The availability of support of this kind through this Department for cultural promotion abroad is widely known and applications for support received each year greatly exceed the resources available.
Individuals or groups applying for grants complete and forward to the Cultural Section of the Department of Foreign Affairs an application together with a covering note and any other relevant details relating to the project for which grant is being requested.
