Tuesday, 13 Nov 2018

Written Answers Nos. 651-668

Ministerial Meetings

Ceisteanna (651, 652, 653, 654, 655)

Catherine Martin

Ceist:

651. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the meetings she has held with environmental organisations since taking office. [46686/18]

Catherine Martin

Ceist:

652. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the meetings she has held with farming organisations since taking office. [46687/18]

Catherine Martin

Ceist:

653. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the meetings she has held with business organisations other than farming organisations since taking office. [46688/18]

Catherine Martin

Ceist:

654. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the meetings she has held with Irish language and Gaeltacht organisations since taking office. [46689/18]

Catherine Martin

Ceist:

655. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the meetings she has held with cultural and built heritage organisations since taking office. [46690/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

I propose to take Questions Nos. 651 to 655, inclusive, together.

My Ministerial Diary is published on my Department’s Website on a quarterly basis and details of my engagements and meetings up to the end of September this year are available at

https://www.chg.gov.ie/about/ministers/ministers-diary/.

National Raised Bog Management Plan

Ceisteanna (656, 657, 658, 659)

Catherine Martin

Ceist:

656. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount spent to date on the proposal to move nine turf cutters from Ballynafagh bog to Coolree bog, County Kildare. [46692/18]

Catherine Martin

Ceist:

657. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the estimated cost of the proposal to move nine turf cutters from Ballynafagh bog to Coolree bog, County Kildare. [46693/18]

Catherine Martin

Ceist:

658. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the estimated total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions which would result from the proposal to move nine turf cutters from Ballynafagh bog to Coolree bog, County Kildare. [46694/18]

Catherine Martin

Ceist:

659. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of years the nine turf cutters proposed to be relocated from Ballynafagh bog to Coolree bog, County Kildare, will be able to cut turf at the new location. [46695/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

I propose to take Questions Nos. 656 to 659, inclusive, together.

The National Raised Bog Special Areas of Conservation Management Plan 2017-2022, published in December 2017, sets out how the raised bog special areas of conservation are to be managed, conserved and restored and how the needs of turf cutters are to be addressed. The relocation of turf cutters from raised bog special areas of conservation to non-designated bogs is one of the options being pursued to address their needs, as set out in the National Plan.

58 applications under the cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme have been received from turf cutters from Ballynafagh Bog special area of conservation, County Kildare. Of these 58 applicants, 9 have expressed an interest in relocation to a non-designated bog.

The process involved in relocating these turf cutters to the non-designated Coolree Bog involves:

i. An assessment of the site as regards turf quality and quantity;

ii. Establishing the number that can be accommodated there;

iii. Engaging in land purchase negotiations and the conclusion of a contract for sale;

iv. An application for planning permission; and

v. The completion of infrastructure and drainage works on the site, subject to the securing of planning permission.

Prior to relocation to Coolree Bog, the turf cutters will be required to enter into a legal agreement with myself, as Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. This legal agreement will grant each turf cutter a turbary right on a plot within Coolree Bog on which he or she may exercise the right to cut turf until the turf is exhausted. Each plot of bog will be comprised of not less than 1 acre of high bog together with an area of spread ground.

To date, my Department has spent approximately €103,000 progressing the relocation of cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme applicants from Ballynafagh Bog special area of conservation to the non-designated Coolree Bog.

I am advised that the upper limit of the total quantity of peat that is expected to be removed as a result of turf cutting at Coolree Bog is 175,500m3. The estimated carbon loss from the 175,500m3 of peat to be removed is calculated as 35,398 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2eq).

Over the estimated operational lifetime of the relocation site, total carbon loss equates to 545 tCO2eq per annum. That is equivalent to the annual emissions of 43 people in Ireland (based on a per capita emission of 12.57 tCO2eq per annum).

Coolree Bog is an already degraded site. The relocation of turf cutters to Coolree Bog is to replace the activity at Ballynafagh Bog special area of conservation, which is a more sensitive site. My Department intends to carry out restoration measures at Ballynafagh Bog special area of conservation and this work will result in improving the carbon sink capabilities within that designated site.

The vast majority of the qualifying cessation of turf cutting compensation applicants from Ballynafagh Bog special area of conservation are being provided with financial compensation under this scheme. My Department is only seeking to relocation a small fraction of these applicants. This is in line with my aim to address the needs of turf cutters as part of an overall raised bog designated network solution, as set out in the National Raised Bog Special Areas of Conservation Management Plan 2017-2022. This involves a balance of protecting traditional rights, providing compensation where these rights are curtailed and seeking to facilitate feasible alternatives where possible, while working to ensure that Ireland meets its legal obligations, in accordance with the EU Habitats Directive.

Turf Cutting Compensation Scheme Data

Ceisteanna (660, 661, 662)

Catherine Martin

Ceist:

660. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of households cutting turf on SACs that have availed of a turf supply in place of their own extraction; and the amount this will cost. [46697/18]

Catherine Martin

Ceist:

661. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of households cutting turf on SACs that have availed of compensation; and the amount this will cost. [46698/18]

Catherine Martin

Ceist:

662. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of households cutting turf on SACs that have applied to be relocated to cut turf elsewhere; and the amount this will cost. [46699/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

I propose to take Questions Nos. 660 to 662, inclusive, together.

The cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme was established in 2011 for active turf cutters arising from the cessation of turf cutting on 53 raised bog special areas of conservation. This scheme is comprised of a payment of €1,500 per annum, index-linked, for 15 years, or relocation, where feasible, to a non-designated bog, together with a once-off incentive payment of €500.

While applicants are waiting for relocation sites to be investigated, prepared and developed, they may, on an interim basis, opt for the annual payment or opt to receive an annual supply of up to 15 tonnes of cut turf delivered to their homes and to the homes of other individuals who had been sourcing turf from the bog plot in question, where applicable.

For certain special area of conservation sites, where applicants have continued to apply for relocation and that has not been feasible, the 15 year compensation (less any interim annual payments or the value of turf deliveries received) has been made available to them in the form of a lump sum to enable them to source and purchase bog plots themselves.

Just over 2,300 qualifying applicants from special areas of conservation have been provided with payments under the cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme amounting to €25.4 million. The estimated cost of the provision of payments over the lifetime of this 15 year scheme is in the region of €54.1 million.

1,075 deliveries of turf have been made at a the cost of just over €2.1 million. The estimated cost of turf deliveries in respect of applicants under the cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme is €3.15 million.

476 applicants have expressed an interest in relocation to a non-designated bog. The process in relocating qualifying applicants to a non-designated bog involves:

i. An assessment of the site as regards turf quality and quantity;

ii. Establishing the number that can be accommodated there;

iii. Engaging in land purchase negotiations and the conclusion of a contract for sale;

iv. An application for planning permission, where required; and

v. The completion of infrastructure and drainage works on the site, subject to the securing of planning permission, where required.

My Department has spent approximately €5.830 million progressing the relocation of qualifying applicants to non-designated bogs. The estimated cost of the relocation process, until it is completed, is €7.630 million.

Gender Equality

Ceisteanna (663, 665)

Joan Burton

Ceist:

663. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will provide the latest report in respect to the gender pay gap in the fields of theatre and culture; the median wage for female and male workers, respectively in theatre, culture and the arts; the average salary of the top 20% of female and male actors, respectively; the average salary of the lower 20% of female and male actors, respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46735/18]

Joan Burton

Ceist:

665. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the steps she is taking to support the ongoing work of an organisation (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46895/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Deputy Josepha Madigan)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 663 and 665 together.

I am unsure to which report the Deputy is referring. I can, however, inform the Deputy that I launched a policy document entitled Gender Equality in Practice in Irish Theatre on the 9th July 2018. The policy document was crafted to encompass the individual workings and requirements of ten theatre organisations and were a result of one and half year’s work.

Gender Equality in Practice in Irish Theatre began after #WakingTheFeminists drew attention to the gender inequality that then existed within Irish theatre. This cultural phenomenon encouraged the participating theatre organisations to consider their own record in programming and supporting women within the sector and identify processes that would ensure gender parity and dignity at work in the future.

Each gender policy statement has been ratified by the boards of the organisations and each organisation has undertaken to measure their progress against their published targets on an annual basis using the #WakingTheFeminists Gender Counts guidelines.

Included in the list of measures are the following

1. Gender blind readings for plays

2. Unconscious bias training for all staff

3. Achieve equality of gender of board members

4. 50% of new play commissions to be allocated to women writers

5. Gender blind casting

6. Addition of Dignity at Work clauses to employees charter

7. Re-examination of the female canon

8. Work with third level institutions to encourage gender parity in areas that do not reflect equality of gender.

9. To achieve gender balance in programming within a 5 year period.

Up to 10 theatre companies are involved in the working group have come together to demonstrate the power of collaboration within the Cultural sector in Ireland, to share expertise, support and learnings and enhance the possibilities for women in the Irish theatre sector.

I am glad also to be able to advise the Deputy that in 2017, the Arts Council supported research commissioned by Waking the Feminists (Gender Counts – an analysis of gender in Irish theatre 2006-2015), and this work continues to inform the Council’s decisions. Separately, the Arts Council is in the final stages of developing a comprehensive Equality, Human Rights and Diversity policy, which considers gender as one of 10 grounds for potential discrimination and inequity. During the course of developing that policy the Arts Council met with several representative groups from civil society and arts gender advocacy groups such as Sounding the Feminists, Fair Plé, and representatives of the former Waking the Feminists movement. I understand that it is the Council’s intention to continue to engage in discussion with these bodies and groups to ensure the effective implementation of its policy in this area.

Waking the Feminists has inspired a number of actions aimed at improving issues for female composers. Last March, I was delighted to be in a position recently to announce funding under the Creative Ireland programme to co-fund the National Concert Hall and Sounding the Feminists’ five-year initiative to promote creative work by female musicians.

National Concert Hall

Ceisteanna (664)

Joan Burton

Ceist:

664. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the timetable of the reconstruction and development of the National Concert Hall; if it will be closed during the course of the development; if alternative arrangements for the National Concert Hall have been made for the closure period; if she has held discussions with the National Concert Hall on the matter; the timetable and budget for the completion of the works; the anticipated opening date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46736/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Deputy Josepha Madigan)

Under its plan 'Investing in our Culture, Heritage and Language' the Government intends to invest €460m in a significant number of capital projects in our National Cultural Institutions over the period 2018 to 2027. This includes an amount of €78 million for the re-development of the National Concert Hall.

Investments under this plan will be subject to appraisal and evaluation in line with the Public Spending Code. This includes the consideration of a range of options prior to committing any funding to the project, an evaluation of the financial and economic implications of the project prior to procuring the project, and robust project management arrangements throughout the implementation phase.

The appraisal and planning for the re-development of the National Concert Hall is ongoing between my Department, the Office of Public Works and the National Concert Hall. It is inevitable that the Hall will have to close for a period during the course of the development. However, at this stage it is not possible to say definitively when and for how long the Hall will close.

I look forward to the development of this project which will be an important landmark for music provision in Ireland.

Question No. 665 answered with Question No. 663.

Commemorative Events

Ceisteanna (666)

James Browne

Ceist:

666. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her plans for War of Independence commemorations, particularly in County Wexford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46938/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Deputy Josepha Madigan)

The Government's approach to the remembrance of all of those who lost their lives during the Independence Struggle and the significant events and themes associated with this period, will be informed by the guidance of the Expert Advisory Group on Centenary Commemorations and the core principles set out in its Second Statement, published in October 2017. I would like to acknowledge the very significant work completed by the Advisory Group over the past year in formulating its guidance. I am now considering the recommendations of the Group. I anticipate that the remainder of the period will follow the approach adopted in the first half of the Decade of Centenaries of being respectful, meaningful, proportionate and authentic.

Departmental Staff Data

Ceisteanna (667)

Michael Moynihan

Ceist:

667. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of senior positions held by both men and women, respectively, in her Department. [46996/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

The following table sets out the number of senior positions held by men and women in my Department.

Grade	Female	Male	Total
Secretary General	1		1
Assistant Secretary *		4	4
Principal Officer	6	15	21
Ministerial Adviser		2	2
Assistant Principal Officer	29	22	51
Assistant Principal Officer equivalents	17	35	52
Total	55	76	131

* includes An Coimisinéir Teanga

Arts Centres

Ceisteanna (668)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

668. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the position on the request for additional funding for a project (details supplied); when a final decision will be made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47085/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

The project referred to in the question consists of the design, construction and operation of a new multifunctional Event Centre in Cork city with a capacity of approximately 6,000 persons. It is envisaged that the Event Centre will be capable of accommodating a range of events including concerts, festivals, family entertainments, arts, cultural, sports, exhibitions, conferences and trade shows.

This is a project led by Cork City Council. In December 2014, the development company BAM was selected by Cork City Council as the preferred tenderer. BAM in turn has engaged international events company Live Nation as the preferred operator. The project is ultimately being developed and managed by Cork City Council. This means that Cork City Council is responsible for its delivery.

In the context of the application for additional funding of €10 million for the project, my Department as sanctioning authority needs to ensure that the project is robust, complies with the Public Spending Code and will deliver value for money for the Exchequer. Due to its size and cost this project has significant procurement, state aid, legal and match funding complexities.

Significant work is taking place by all parties involved in order to develop a sustainable project, culminating in a new cultural centre for Cork. High level meetings are continuing to take place regarding legal and funding requirements in light of the additional €10 million funding request. Cork City Council is also reviewing a number of elements of the project; such as the revised application for planning permission which was submitted in August 2018 and funding of ancillary infrastructure near the event centre. All parties are eager for this project to progress and be delivered in accordance with the relevant Exchequer funding and legal requirements.

My Department is continuing to engage with Cork City Council in relation to additional capital funding for the Event Centre.