Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When the Minister for Finance spoke yesterday he said that the purpose of the budget was to continue the progress the Government had made, to reinforce policies that increase the economy, to establish the conditions that will create jobs, and to prepare for exiting the bailout programme. We must not lose sight of this goal and every Department has a role to play in achieving this objective.

My Department has policy responsibility for the conservation, preservation, protection, development and presentation of Ireland's heritage and culture. It also seeks to promote the Irish language, to support the Gaeltacht and to assist the sustainable development of island communities. A gross provision of over €238 million is available to my Department for these purposes in 2014. A further €7.5 million is provided separately for the National Gallery of Ireland. In broad terms, the 2014 allocations are as follows: almost €123 million for arts, culture and film, including almost €56 million for the Arts Council and €14 million for the Irish Film Board; almost €45 million for the conservation and protection of Ireland's built and natural heritage; almost €40 million for the Irish language, the Gaeltacht and the islands; and over €38 million for North-South co-operation, including support for two North-South implementation bodies, Waterways Ireland and An Foras Teanga.

For 2014, there has been a core reduction of approximately €16.9 million, 7%, in Exchequer funding to my Department. Therefore, as with every Minister, I had to make difficult choices with regard to funding for next year. Notwithstanding this, even with a reduced Departmental budget, every week more than €2.3 million will be invested in arts, culture and film next year. This funding will go to agencies including the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board, the national cultural institutions, and regionally-based museums and arts centres.

Cultural institutions funded by my Department attract approximately 3.5 million visitors a year. I have taken that into account by allocating as much as possible to the National Museum and National Library, and holding allocations steady to the National Archives. I want to enable institutions to maintain services to the public over the course of 2014, and I have, therefore, prioritised these national institutions as much as I can for next year. These institutions are also doing more with less. Last week, the National Gallery, IMMA and the Crawford Art Gallery signed a shared services agreement. The three galleries will co-operate more closely together and will share certain skills or processes so as to increase efficiency and save money. The sharing of services at these three institutions should save €100,000 by the end of this year.

The allocation of more than €2.3 million for every week of 2014 will help to maintain and support the important role the arts play in innovation and expression, job creation and economic recovery. In addition, funding for three jobs-rich initiatives, totalling €17 million, is also being made available. This will have a considerable positive impact on the arts and heritage sectors throughout 2014. This €17 million in additional funding, coming from the proceeds of the national lottery licence transaction, includes €6 million for the Limerick national city of culture 2014 project; €6 million for projects relating to the decade of centenaries, 1912-1922; and €5 million for the traditional skills and buildings at risk jobs leverage scheme 2014.

When I announced a new national city of culture initiative last year - to commence next year in Limerick - it was with the aim of delivering a programme of cultural and artistic events and engagement in a city for one year, but also with the aim of having a longer-term positive impact nationally. This funding is an investment in the arts in the mid-west, and coincides with an important year for Limerick, when the new amalgamated local authority will come into being. The allocation offers Limerick a fantastic opportunity to hang out its brightest colours, to unlock the tremendous creativity that has been associated with the city for centuries and to put on a programme of events of national importance.

The funding for the decade of centenaries is also significant, as it allows us to move ahead with major building projects to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising. The allocation of €5 million for heritage buildings is the most important investment in heritage buildings in Ireland in recent times. This will allow for urgent repairs on protected heritage buildings to take place across the country, improving our heritage stock, adding to Ireland's attractiveness as a place to live and work and generating employment in the construction and skilled crafts trades.

I also welcome the decision to extend the Living City initiative, introduced last year to Cork, Galway, Kilkenny and Dublin for all buildings built prior to 1915. This incentive targets Ireland's historic building stock. It is a tangible example of Government's commitment to sustainable development, so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past, and it focuses on our existing urban core. The scheme complements the new investment scheme in the traditional skills and buildings at risk jobs leverage scheme and will ensure that Ireland's major urban cities are enhanced, continue to have vibrant city centres, and encourage increased tourism and direct inward investment.

Following the reopening of the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham, provision has been made for the extensive renovation of the historic wings of the National Gallery of Ireland. This work, which will generate approximately 270 jobs, will be one of the most significant additions to the cultural infrastructure of the country, and I am delighted and proud that it is going ahead.

Funding to my Department for 2014 will continue to support the national parks at Glenveagh, Ballycroy, Connemara, Killarney, Wicklow and the Burren. Ireland recently received a prestigious European Diploma of Protected Areas for the sustainable management of the Burren, a first for the country. Funding for 2014 will also contribute to the management of heritage areas, to biodiversity, and to special schemes, including the reintroduction of protected species such as birds of prey.

I welcome the announcement by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, that he intends to bring forward the new regime for film tax reliefs to 2015, and also extend the definition of "eligible individual" in the scheme for film relief to include non-EU talent. This is a matter I and the officials have been working on over the course of 2013. The film sector is competitive, but it can drive investment into Ireland and employment growth here. The changes announced yesterday are already receiving attention on the international stage, including in trade magazines such as the The Hollywood Reporterand Variety, which have noted that Ireland is redoubling efforts to attract international film investment.

I am committed to developing North-South co-operation within the broader arts, heritage and commemorative activities of the Department as well as through the funding of North-South bodies. A provision of €38.3 million will be made available to support the two North-South implementation bodies, An Foras Teanga, comprising Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency, and Waterways Ireland. The provision will enable Waterways Ireland to deliver on its core activities and targets, which include keeping the waterways open for navigation during the main boating season and promoting increased use of the waterways resource for recreational purposes. This expenditure should also assist in developing and promoting the waterways, attracting increased numbers of overseas visitors and stimulating business and regeneration in these areas. Capital funding of almost €4 million will be made available to Waterways Ireland to facilitate the ongoing maintenance and restoration of Ireland's inland waterways, thereby increasing recreational access along the routes of waterways.

The Government has reaffirmed its commitment to continuing to make progress, to improving the economy, to exiting the bailout, and to helping to create jobs. The Department and the sectors it represents will make a significant contribution to this work over the course of 2014.

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