I wish to advise the Deputy that the organisation to which he refers has sent copies of its pre-budget submission for 2022 to me and to my officials. I am familiar with the recommendations made by the organisation. Budget 2022 will be announced on 12 October 2021. A number of the recommendations listed in the pre-budget submission that come within the remit of my Department are also contained in the arts and culture recovery task force report, Life Worth Living, published in November 2020, which outlined a vision f…

I acknowledge it has been an incredibly tough time for all those who work in the arts and culture sector. Effectively, they have been unable to do what they do best, to do what they love and to earn a living. The Deputy may argue that they languish on the bottom rung, but the fact I secured a commitment from Government for a basic guaranteed income pilot scheme, which was the number one recommendation of the arts recovery task force, shows my commitment as Minister with responsibility for arts and culture. I have a…

There is where we are in absolute agreement. On numerous occasions in just over a year since becoming Minister, I have pointed out that my focus is not only on sustaining artists during this very difficult time. We are a nation which talks so much about valuing the arts and now is the time for us to put our money where our mouth is. If there was one lesson to be learned during the pandemic of the past 18 months, it was how the arts go to the very core of our being as a nation and I deeply value that. It will not ju…

My Department’s role in relation to tourism lies in the area of national tourism policy development. It does not have any role in the administration of tourism business support schemes including the setting of eligibility criteria. These are operational matters for Fáilte Ireland. In 2020 Fáilte Ireland established the Ireland-based inbound agents business continuity scheme, which has provided business continuity funding of more than €10 million to a total of 97 businesses. Last year Fáilte Ireland also established…

I thank the Deputy. I do not believe it is accurate to say that Fáilte Ireland has made a decision against any specific business. The facts are that under the National Tourism Development Authority Act 2003, Fáilte Ireland is not permitted to assist businesses in respect of activities outside the State. Accordingly, Fáilte Ireland has provided business continuity funding to businesses such as inbound tour operators and coach tour operators in respect of their activities within the State. As I have said, Tourism Ire…

I thank the Deputy. If the Deputy wants, she can forward the details to me of the specific business, but I do feel that the agencies are prohibited from funding these businesses because of the 2003 Act. Perhaps Tourism Northern Ireland should be approached and not Tourism Ireland, which the Deputy is aware is a separate body. Maybe this is the angle from which to approach it.

To date, €14 million has been drawn down from the total commitment of €15 million from my Department to the European Capital of Culture. Of this €14 million drawn down, €13 million has been spent on the development, production and delivery of the key projects under the Galway 2020 cultural programme, most of which were set out in the original winning bid book. From the date of signing in November 2018 of the performance delivery agreement between my Department and Galway 2020, and as per the terms of the agreement,…

The Deputy raised a number of questions to answer in one minute. All European Capital of Culture designations carry with them a wide range of challenges in delivering on their broad objectives, and, in the case of Galway 2020, these challenges have been made more acute by the global pandemic. Nonetheless, even against this challenging background, much was achieved. Some 350 Irish-based artists and other cultural professionals completed their projects and delivered commissioned original work with more than 500 event…

With regard to the reference to 50%, in the 2014 decision by Government to exercise Ireland's right to nominate a city to be Ireland's 2020 European Capital of Culture, it was noted by Government that Exchequer funding would not exceed 50% of its overall financial costs. The €15 million in funding for the Department was subsequent included by the Government in Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework without a provision to limit percentages in respect of overall costs. Notwithstanding this, the impact …

The published statement of strategy for 2021 to 2023 for my Department sets out the priorities for this Department over the next few years to ensure all sectors recover and grow in a manner that underpins social cohesion and supports strong, sustainable economic growth with a focus on a number of cross-cutting goals of equality, diversity, social inclusion, the Irish language and environmental sustainability. One of the cross-cutting goals of the strategy is to support and promote diversity, social, inclusion and f…

My Department is developing a number of policies to support diversity and full and effective female presentation and engagement. I would point the Deputy to the Creative Ireland programme. There have been a number of initiatives that encourage diversity within the arts, for example, to facilitate the integration of migrant populations. Songs from Direct Provision in south County Dublin; Song Seeking initiatives in Limerick; a film project called "Under Surveillance" in County Wicklow and a children's art exhibition…

I am stuck for words, which is a first. I thank Deputy Lahart. I will not sing it now. In response to Deputy Devlin, due to my background teaching in DEIS schools, I have asked for more DEIS schools to be included in creative schools. Another great initiative is the fighting words creative writing programme, of which the Deputy is probably aware, that works with children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Deputy Lahart is probably aware of the local authority scheme for those creative spaces launched by my Department …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 49 and 63 together. I am critically aware of the devastating impact Covid-19 has had on all areas of the arts and cultural sector and have endeavoured to make sure the concerns of those in this sector have been understood and addressed. I have met with numerous representative organisations and officials in my Department have continued contact with these organisations and others on a regular basis, throughout the pandemic, to confirm I had the most up-to-date information to ensure…

I believe that with this pilot and this commitment and by delivering the number one recommendation, we as a country have an opportunity to lead. In earlier questions I mentioned how we really value and the arts. I see this opportunity, so I am grabbing it. That is why we had so many meetings over the summer. The pilot scheme we are working on relates to the commitment in the National Economic Recovery Plan 2021. That is what I am committed to. There may have been confusion in the wording in the Pathways to Work Str…

I can confirm that I am looking at the recommendation in the task force report from last year. The oversight group presented a number of options to me. I will make my decision based on the option that I think is best for the arts sector. I cannot give any more detail than that. The Deputy will appreciate that this information is sensitive. It is also part of the budget negotiations. With the greatest of respect, I ask the Deputy to give me some time. It is at a crucial stage. On the Deputy's question on the date, I…

There are two major areas of work taking place under the remit of my Department in regard to arts in the context of the child, through the Arts Council and the Creative Ireland Programme. Children and young people participate in the arts in early learning and care settings, schools, and other education and youth work settings. These opportunities may be offered in partnership with independent and community providers. Other activities are offered outside mainstream education or youth work settings and are led by art…

The Creative Youth plan to enable the creative potential of every young person was published in December 2017 as one of the five pillars of the Creative Ireland programme. One of the key measures taken to support young people's engagement at community level has been the establishment of Cruinniú na nÓg, as I mentioned earlier. It is the day when every young person in Ireland can experience something new and exciting and something to spark and nurture their creative skills. As with many other events and activities, …

The local authorities have an extensive track record of community engagement through the arts, culture, heritage and library services. The Deputy is aware of this aspect as we both served on Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. These services are fundamental to developing a stronger society. Through the Creative Ireland programme and in partnership with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, my Department has supported each of the 31 local authorities to develop and implement individual cultura…

The report of the night-time economy task force was launched in recent days. I and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, emphasised that it was not all about alcohol. I thought that was key to it. There were offerings regarding cultural institutions and spaces for events to happen without alcohol. It is a key element of the approach that we do not associate the night-time economy solely with alcohol. There was a lot of engagement with the HSE in the preparation of the report. Multiple events can be considered in …

A key part of the report, as emphasised at the launch, was to place a value on electronic music and the club culture as part of the arts and culture sector, which has never been done before. There is also ample opportunity to ensure cultural activities do not stop when it gets dark. That does not mean all cultural activities must involve alcohol. We will be looking to have family-friendly activities. I would like to be in a position to take my children to events at 10 p.m., 11 p.m. and 12 midnight, if they want to …