Arts: Local Funding 13th March 2013

16th March 2013 - Bernard Durkan TD

To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which he expects to be in a position to offer financial support to locally organised cultural and or heritage events over the next three years with the objective of rewarding local initiatives and effort; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

– Bernard J. Durkan.

For ORAL answer on Wednesday, 13th March, 2013.

Ref No: 13060/13 Lottery: 1 Proof: 1

R E P L Y

Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Deputy Jimmy Deenihan):

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the strong interest of the Deputy in matters relating to culture and heritage, and the potential of those sectors – apart from their intrinsic value – to help promote economic recovery. As the Deputy is aware, I have responded to a range of Questions from him on these matters over recent months and have also supplied him directly with a significant volume of information in relation to assistance provided to arts and heritage groups from my own Department, the Heritage Council and the Arts Council.

As the Deputy knows, I share his view that the arts, culture and heritage sectors continue to offer vital opportunities for the provision of important cultural, social and employment benefits to communities throughout the country. The nature of employment within the arts sector encompasses a very wide range of activities, while cultural and heritage tourism is one of the most important elements of Ireland’s tourism product. I should also say that the Government appreciates and values the contribution the arts sector makes to the internationally renowned artistic and cultural reputation of this country.

I have outlined previously for the Deputy a range of ways in which my Department and relevant bodies within its remit are seeking to support cultural and heritage initiatives in conjunction with local groups and communities. These include:

· cultural tourism initiatives such as the St Patrick’s celebrations, Music Day and Culture Night;

· the extensive support provided by the Arts Council for festivals and other arts and cultural events across the county;

· the range of activities organised by the National Cultural Institutions and other cultural venues supported by my Department;

· the Philanthropy Leverage Initiative, funded by my Department, which is designed to encourage philanthropic sponsorship and endowment funding of the arts from private sources, as well as the Arts Council funded Philanthropy Capacity Building Initiative;

· the many cultural and heritage events being held under the auspices of both The Gathering and our EU Presidency Cultural Programme;

· a number of web-based projects being developed by my Department to promote greater appreciation and understanding of Ireland’s heritage as a valuable amenity for residents and visitors alike;

· specific heritage-led projects such as the Historic Towns and Walled Towns Initiatives; and

· other collaborative work with bodies and groups such as the Heritage Council, the Irish Heritage Trust, Fáilte Ireland, and LEADER Groups.

Within the current economic constraints, investment in the arts, heritage, culture and creative sectors is more important than ever, having regard to the employment intensity of these sectors. While I know that the Deputy appreciates the funding difficulties facing all Departments at this time, I can assure him that I remain committed to securing the best possible level of funding for these sectors. The specific allocations to be made over the next three years will, of course, be dependent on the budgetary and estimates cycles in each of those years.

Bernard Durkan TD

Kildare North

Bernard J Durkan is the Fine Gael spokesperson on Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. Originally from Killasser, Co Mayo,…

Arts: Local Funding 13th March 2013

Bernard Durkan TD

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