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

I thank Deputy Ó Fearghaíl for his positive contribution. He has raised a number of important questions. The stimulus package can generally broken down as involving €10 million for the centre in Cork, €5 million for the employment leverage fund, €6 million for Limerick and approximately €3.8 million for the GPO project and the development of Teach an Phiarsaigh in Connemara. That is a general breakdown of the €25 million spend. All of the projects are very worthwhile. The contribution from the sale of the National Lottery has been welcomed in those areas. We are fortunate to have it in our Estimates for this year.

The film incentives that were published by the Minister in the recent budget have created broad interest in the film community. They seem to be attracting a great deal of interest already. It appears that we will do very well in the film festivals this year. Films like "Calvary" and "Frank" are getting very good reviews. We are doing very well in the Sundance Film Festival, which is taking place at present. It is possible that a number of Irish actors will be in line for Oscars as well. The film industry is very buoyant at the moment despite the cutbacks at the Irish Film Board. I am encouraged that so much talent is emerging at production and other levels. We have a number of young producers and some really exciting new male and female actors. It is quite encouraging. There is a very good technical base in this country in areas like cinematography, costume design and set-making. I hope that this rich source of technical expertise will land some major films for us in the near future.

The Deputy asked about the return in this area. It is generally estimated that the film and audiovisual industry is worth over €500 million to Ireland. A report on the creative industries that we produced over two years ago sets out objectives of increasing that figure to €1 billion and of employing 10,000 people. At the moment, over 6,500 people - full-time equivalents - are involved in the film industry. There is a major payback on the small amount of money we are investing in the film industry. The Irish Film Board is one of the most efficient boards in the country. It employs approximately 18 people, including a chief executive. This streamlined and focused organisation has been recognised in Cannes and at other film festivals for the good work it is doing. The film industry is quite vibrant at present. The animation industry, which turns over approximately €60 million a year, is making major progress as well. It is growing because it attracts younger people.

They are well versed in technology and so on. The sector is now attracting that type of individual graduating from the colleges which have adapted to the animation industry and are very animated about the subject. The film industry is vibrant. I look forward to the day when either I or somebody else will say funding for it will be increased because it deserves support.

Let me give another statistic: 20% of the people who visit Ireland choose to come here because they have seen Ireland depicted in a film. That is why the film industry is so important. West Kerry has an extraordinary association with the film "Ryan's Daughter" which put it and Dingle, in particular, on the map. "The Quiet Man" did the same for Cong, County Mayo. The attention generated by both films is proof that a film can have a major promotional and marketing effect on an area or county.

Regional centres were mentioned. Unfortunately, I agree with the Deputy that cutbacks have an impact across the country. In general, spending on regional centres is spread across the country. There has been spending on the Hunt Museum in Limerick, the Foynes Flying Boat Museum which did not have its funding cut, Archbishop Marsh's Library, Culture Night in Dublin and the regions, as well as the James Joyce Centre which also did not have its funding cut. In general, however, cuts were made to the funding for such schemes. There is also funding to meet EU and Council of Europe commitments, participation in the European digital library and ongoing support for local and regional museum schemes. I agree that this is one area in which funding is distributed across the country and the cut in funding was commensurate with others in other institutions. We will try to limit the cuts as much as possible, but we have maintained the figure for the main agencies and museums to an average of about 4%. The cuts have probably affected programmes and other initiatives more than the museums.

Let me explain the rationale behind the choice of Limerick as national city of culture. After I was appointed Minister, I was in Limerick on a number of occasions when I witnessed the city's vibrant arts community. It struck me that Limerick was probably not recognised to the extent it should be and was not respected or appreciated for the level of arts activity in the city. At the time we were preparing for the EU Presidency. As the European City of Culture initiative was in my area and part of the Creative Europe initiative, obviously I was very conscious of the concept. Derry had been designated the city of culture - or Londonderry as it was referred to it - in the United Kingdom and received a lot of media attention. It dawned on me that we should have a national city of culture and Limerick was chosen to be included in the pilot project. In parallel, the Limerick regeneration implementation group, under the tutelage of Mr. Denis Brosnan, was considering a similar initiative. In other words, it wanted to capitalise on the strength of culture for regeneration purposes. Mr. Brosnan and people like Mr. Mike Fitzpatrick, now acting CEO, got a group together and made a good presentation on the connection. I suggest everyone, including the media, read the presentation, as it proves where the city of culture initiative originated. It made much of the opportunities the city of culture brand would give Limerick in terms of regeneration. The city is far advanced in terms of physical infrastructure, but the presentation dealt with the cultural aspects. The group commenced its examination in October 2011 and presented a very good report in May 2012. In the meantime, my officials had drawn up the necessary criteria in choosing an Irish city of culture; we supplied a memorandum to the Government in June 2012 and announced Limerick as the first city of culture in July that year. It was quite clear that Limerick City Council would be the implementing body, together with the regeneration group, and that all personnel and programming issues would be dealt with by them and that the Department would adopt an arm's length approach. Obviously, we would provide the funding, but we simply did not have recourse to provide it in the 2013 budget. Again, we were lucky we had national lottery funding available. If we had not, the funding would have had to come from either a special allocation by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform or my Department's core funding for the arts, thus reducing funding for the arts across the entire country. The sum of €6 million was provided and the city of culture organisers received an indication that it would be provided in April. They went ahead and produced the programme of events based on that sum.

The city of culture programme is a very good one. There was a great opening night which some Members may have seen on national television. It was a positive event when Dolores O'Riordan and Paul O'Connell expressed their pride in their city. The organisers put on a strong display, particularly as it was being held on New Year's Eve. I have since opened a photographic exhibition by Franz Haselbeck, one of the greatest photographers this country has produced. The centre that houses the exhibition was full to capacity on that occasion.

Last weekend a production of Riverdance was performed in Limerick and extra performances had to be added to accommodate the demand for tickets. The show was a resounding success, particularly for its creator, Mr. Bill Whelan. It was great for him to return to his city for the first time with the show, which resonated with the audience and attracted a great deal of attention. I am very confident that the programme for the city of culture will be dynamic for the year ahead and that it will be successful.

I will respond to the request to extend the Living City initiative. The initiative which covered Limerick and Waterford last year had come from my Department. We presented it to the Department of Finance last year and this year it was extended as a result of the Bacon report. We had engaged Dr. Bacon to examine the initiative and make recommendations. We will monitor the scheme very carefully. I agree that if has worked in the designated cities, it can work in core urban areas.

I share the Deputy's view of thatched houses and I am quite worried that they are disappearing. There are a number of reasons for their decline. First, the cost of insurance is a major factor. Second, there is the cost of thatch and the availability of thatchers with the necessary skills. That is also a source of worry. There is a grant available from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and on foot of what the Deputy has said, I will examine whether another initiative and incentive could be created. Thatched houses are very much part of the Irish landscape and culture and should be protected as much as possible.

With regard to expenditure on peatlands, we have spent over €7.4 million since 2011 on relocation, compensation and turf deliveries. That represents a huge part of the Department's budget.

This expenditure is important because, as I have explained to a number of people, we were at the door of the European court. The European Commission is very serious about this issue. It allowed us a long period to get our house in order, but ran out of patience and if there was to be any regression now on extensive cutting of the SACs, we would end up in court. I believe the threat is not an idle one. This could result in fines of up to €25,000 a day and a lump sum - anything up to €9 million a year. I would prefer to give money to the people living in rural Ireland and to protect our bogs which are important in the context of climate change, flood control, nature and services for the community and the public. I would prefer to give the money to people to protect our bogs rather than pay it in fines to Europe.

With regard to world heritage sites, the brand of world heritage site is important. When we go to Italy, Greece or other European countries, we see how seriously they promote these sites. Ireland has several heritage sites, but we only have two world heritage sites, Brú na Bóinne and Skellig Michael. There is a reason for this. Clonmacnoise, for example, would be an iconic world heritage site, but the people there, particularly the farmers and landowners, fear they would not get planning permission because of planning restrictions for world heritage sites. This is one of the main reasons it is not a world heritage site. The case is similar in regard to the Céide Fields. I have met people from that area and they share the same concerns regarding planning.

I organised a meeting and brought people over from Europe and UNESCO to explain the implications for designation as a world heritage site. Following that meeting, a number of community groups and councils are reviewing their situations and hopefully something will come from that. I believe that if the fear of planning restrictions was overcome, more proposals would come forward. Unless proposals are agreed locally by communities and the local authorities, we cannot impose a designation on them. There are a number of proposals on the tentative list, including Georgian Dublin, that could be pursued. We hope that following the meeting and consultation, we will receive some proposals we can take forward. The world heritage brand is an important one to have and could be part of our unique selling point from the archeological, architectural and tourism points of view. We will pursue this.

In regard to North-South co-operation, An Foras Teanga gets €13.58 million and Waterways Ireland gets €24.18 million.