Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 May 2012
118 Deputy Derek Keating asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his plans to extend the State’s arts and memorabilia by way of exhibition to parishes and communities in the Lucan and Clondalkin area of Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21345/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra132 Deputy Derek Keating asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his plans to promote arts and heritage in the greater west Dublin area; his plans to extend some of the State’s art such as paintings and sculptures and important memorabilia to the regions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21348/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 118 and 132 together.
The Deputy will appreciate that the State's art collections to which he refers are held mainly by the national cultural institutions. The management of these exhibitions and exhibition material is an operational matter for which the individual institutions have responsibility and this is reflected, in particular, in the legislative basis under which the national cultural institutions operate. These institutions include the National Museum, the National Gallery, the National Library IMMA, the Chester Beatty Library, and the Crawford Art Gallery. Arrangements are made from time to time for the loan of artefacts and works in the national collections to regional museums and galleries, provided conditions as to security, accreditation and so forth are met.
The Arts Council also has a collection consisting of some 1,000 works of contemporary Irish art. The collection represents emerging, as well as more established, artists. Over 80% of the collection is on loan to public institutions around the country. The Council operates a Loan Scheme enabling organisations such as schools, hospitals, local authorities, public galleries and other public institutions to borrow works of art from its collection for periods of up to two years, so as to ensure that the maximum number of people have access to this extensive collection of contemporary Irish art. Details of how to apply are available on the Council's website (http://virtualgallery.artscouncil.ie/loan.html), as is a virtual tour of the collection.
My Department is committed to providing annual funding to certain other cultural institutions which hold collections of moveable cultural heritage of national importance, or collections that are unique in the country and relate to matters of national interest, or that relate to international culture. These institutions and their collections are accessible to the public. Such institutions include the Hunt Museum, Archbishop Marsh's Library and the Foynes Flying Boat Museum.
The Deputy may be aware that the AIB recently has entered into a partnership with the State in respect of its art collection. Crawford Art Gallery is to house this gift of 39 key pieces from the AIB as an addition to the permanent collection on view there. The AIB will also be making available a further 991 works for exhibition by publicly funded galleries through the aegis of the Crawford Art Gallery. The collection was exhibited in the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork for several weeks and has now moved to Limerick. It is proposed that a number of works of art from this collection will continue to be exhibited in a number of publicly funded galleries through the aegis of the Crawford Art Gallery. In addition, the Great Southern art collection was secured by the State some years ago and is also held in the Crawford Gallery. Works from this collection have been exhibited in many other galleries and indeed in my own Department's office in Killarney.
Finally, some of the most ambitious capital projects funded under my Department's ACCESS scheme are art galleries, such as the Carlow Contemporary Art Gallery, the Niland in Sligo and the Limerick City Art Gallery. These galleries draw regularly on the national collection for exhibitions.
120 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which he continues to monitor, promote and support all forms of the arts with particular reference to the need to ensure the retention and creation of the maximum possible number of jobs throughout the sector and with the added benefit of the ability of the sector to attract additional funding and support from the wider economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21602/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra422 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the total number of persons employed directly or indirectly in the arts at present; if he will endeavour to ensure that such numbers are retained or expended with particular reference to both the economic and cultural benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21989/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 120 and 422 together.
My policy on the arts is to promote and strengthen the arts in all its forms, increase access to and participation in the arts, and make the arts an integral and valued part of our national life. The importance and impact of arts and culture is an essential element to our identity, profile, confidence and place in the world. The State appreciates and values the contribution the arts and cultural sectors make to the internationally renowned artistic reputation of this country.
Within the current economic constraints, our investment in the arts, culture and creative sectors is more important than ever due to the employment intensity of the sector. The arts are a significant economic contributor and employer in their own right and they are also important building blocks for those economic policies the Government has identified as crucial for our economic recovery. The arts underpin policies in attracting foreign direct investment, in the creation of an imaginative labour force, in establishing an innovative environment in which the creative and cultural industries can thrive and in cultural tourism.
A report entitled An Assessment of the Economic Impact of the Arts in Ireland, published by the Arts Council in 2011, updates a previous independent evaluation by consultants Indecon of the economic impact of the arts, published in 2009. The updated report shows that the arts provide significant direct and indirect employment. The sector supports 21,328 jobs and contributes €306.8 million in taxes. The arts also impact on the wider creative industries, contributing €4.7 billion to the economy and supporting 79,000 jobs.
In relation to the Government's Action Plan for Jobs, there are 11 specific actions to be undertaken by my Department and the agencies under its remit in the areas of arts, culture and creative enterprise. Together, I believe that we can work to realise the explicit and implicit targets set for these areas. The relevant actions (under section 7 of the Plan) are set out below:
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7.14.1: Take actions as set out in the Creative Capital Report prepared by the Audiovisual Strategic Review Steering Group to double the value of the film and audiovisual sector by 2016 to over €1 billion, double employment to over 10,000 and increase cultural exports of Irish audiovisual production |
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Steps Necessary for Delivery |
Timeline Responsible body |
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Work with the audiovisual industry to grow exports |
Ongoing 2012 Irish Film Board |
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Undertaking a range of skills initiatives to address medium to long-term challenges for the sector |
Ongoing 2012 Irish Film Board |
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Leveraging investment in data centers and cloud computing to create distribution and fulfillment opportunities for the digital content industries. |
Ongoing 2012 Irish Film Board |
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7.14.2 |
Through Culture Ireland, maximise the business opportunities abroad for cultural and artistic businesses and enterprises by promoting Irish artists world-wide and showcasing our strengths in culture and creativity. |
Ongoing 2012 DAHG/IDA |
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7.14.3 |
Through Culture Ireland, undertake joint marketing activities with the enterprise development agencies to build ‘brand Ireland’ in this sector. |
Ongoing 2012 DAHG/Enterprise agencies |
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7.14.4 |
Leverage the potential for language and roots tourism, working with Tourism Ireland, the National Archives of Ireland, Foras na Gaeilge and relevant partners. |
Ongoing 2012 DAHG/ Tourism Ireland, National Archives of Ireland / Foras na Gaeilge and relevant partners |
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7.14.5 |
Roll-out further cultural digitization initiatives, in partnership with the private sector, in order the leverage our unique cultural offerings and bring them to a wider internationalaudience. |
Ongoing 2012 DAHG |
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7.14.6 |
Through the Arts Council, support over 50 venues, approximately 200 festivals and 400arts organisations in 2012, supporting employment in communities across the country, both directly through funding artists and organisations and indirectly in the tourism sector and the wider economy. |
Ongoing 2012 DAHG |
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7.14.7 |
Ensure continuity in the provision of heritage services nationally through an allocation of €48m for 2012. |
Ongoing 2012 DAHG |
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7.14.8 |
Invest in quality customer offerings through the National Cultural Institutions and regional cultural bodies and enterprises to enhance our overall tourism offering and to make Ireland a destination of cultural distinction for the cultural tourists globally. |
Ongoing 2012 DAHG |
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7.18.9 |
Support research activities of relevance to the sector including research in the areas of digital networks, communications and radio spectrum optimization, semantic web and sensor web, big data and data analytics, and their application in sectors such as film and television, social media and publishing |
Ongoing 2012 Research funders and Prioritisation Action Group |
