Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 March 2014
1. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his views on whether the St. Patrick’s Day festival is soulless; his plans to promote Irish culture and heritage during the St. Patrick's Day festivities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10700/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis question is appropriate as we move towards the celebration of the national feast. In tabling it, I am conscious that the national St. Patrick's Day festival is probably one of the most international of national festivals. In the brief time available to us, I want the opportunity to explore with the Minister how we can best celebrate it at home, whether what we are currently doing is good enough and whether we can do better.
Since 2012, the week around the St. Patrick's Day festival has been designated as the international week of Irish culture. That year was essentially the first of a five-year development plan in this regard, with the emphasis on the launch of an international celebration of the Irish culture brand and a series of programme activities based in existing cultural venues around the Merrion Square-Kildare Street areas of Dublin, marketing the message of "I Love My City".
Last year, the international element had Culture Connects, the international culture programme of Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union, as its key focus. The domestic element of the celebration took place over an extended four-day period and featured 16 free headline events staged in the surroundings of some of our most prestigious cultural institutions and venues.
This year is year three of the initiative, and the I Love My City programme will again feature an array of diverse and eclectic cultural events, showcasing established and emerging artists from a variety of disciplines, including literature, music, film, visual arts and the spoken word. The domestic cultural programme will take place throughout the four days of the festival and some of our most well known cultural institutions and venues will play host to events, including the National Gallery of Ireland, the National Concert Hall, the National Library of Ireland, Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, the Royal Hibernian Academy, RHA, and Archbishop Marsh's Library.
Internationally, my Department, through its Culture Ireland programme, has allocated funding of approximately €250,000 to more than 40 events in 18 different countries taking place over the St. Patrick's Day period. The aim is to enhance the overall impact of the period by promoting Irish arts and culture on the international stage at a time when the spotlight of the world is on Ireland.
I am satisfied that, far from being soulless, the St. Patrick's Day festival provides a wonderful opportunity, which is being well utilised, to showcase Irish culture and heritage at home and abroad.
I thank the Minister for his response and join in paying tribute to everyone involved in developing this as an important cultural festival, including Ms Susan Kirby and others who have given selflessly of their time. However, it is also appropriate to ask whether it can be improved upon. Recently, there was stringent criticism of the festival from none other than the Dublin lord mayor, who accused the organisers of lacking ambition, referred to it as a soulless festival and called the closing off of Merrion Square - he is particularly interested in that area, I suspect - as something that was about raising money rather than celebrating our Irishness and the best of what it is to be Irish.
Can we do better? Can we infuse something of the spirit, success, enthusiasm and vigour of the great fleadh cheoil, which is probably our principal cultural event, into the St. Patrick's Day celebrations?
I thank Deputy Ó Fearghaíl for raising this matter. He has accepted that we are doing well and are using St. Patrick's Day not only as a celebration of our Irishness but also as a platform to undertake other cultural events at home and internationally. Of course we can do better. For that reason, I will have a meeting in early April with Culture Ireland, which is a representative group, Tourism Ireland, which deals with the international marketing of Ireland, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, given its connection with the embassies and consulates general around the world, towards establishing an international programme. During the Irish Presidency, the Culture Connects programme proved how effectively a cross-Europe cultural programme could work. We can also probably improve the quality of our parades across the country while recognising the major effort that, for example, schools and arts organisations put into making floats and attractive parades, which are attracting about-----
I will let the Minister speak again.
I thank the Minister for that. The week after next, we will see a major exodus of members of the Government from Ireland. I salute the Cabinet and Ministers of State for their efforts and wish them well as they reach out to the Irish community across the world. I understand that the Minister is off to San Francisco.
This initiative is an important mission in terms of connecting with the Irish abroad and promoting Irish tourism and continued foreign direct investment, FDI. Is there an extra dimension to the initiative this year, given the fact that 28 members of the Cabinet and the junior team are heading abroad? We realise the importance of the initiative. Before the naysayers criticise the Government for doing this, they should consider the benefits that flow from it for the Irish at home and abroad.
I agree with the Deputy. I remember paying my own way to Silicon Valley and coming here when I was in opposition, at a time when Ministers were not going there, and saying I agreed totally that they should go there. When they did go somewhere, they were criticised from the Opposition benches. It is very important that they do go there. We are attracting a large number of the Irish Diaspora through the business diaspora and the Global Irish Economic Forum. If they come to Ireland, they do not charge us and they ask why we cannot go to them when we have this great opportunity. There is no other country that gets as much attention as Ireland on St. Patrick's Day because other countries do not have comparable festivals. That makes it very important for us. For that reason, despite the fact that funding for Culture Ireland was reduced somewhat this year because we wanted to spend the money on local organisations and events, we still have provided a sum of €250,000. There will be people going to 18 countries, some of whom will be performing in different places. Therefore, there is an appreciation and realisation that this is a great opportunity. Nonetheless, I take the Deputy's point that we could do better.
