Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes. We will work with the schools. We plan to connect with the schools through the Department of Education and Skills.

Regarding the 1913 commemorations, we commemorated the Lock-out, and quite a number of events were organised. There was a huge programme of acts supported by my Department in that respect.

On the international context of 1916, we will connect with all the embassies and the diaspora. It has been mentioned that we should look across Europe because 1916 was a huge time of change across Europe. We will be exploring links that we can make with other countries. That is something the expert advisory group mentioned, and we will work on it.

Mention was made of big businesses. Businesses will not be sponsoring the State events but I do not want to say there will not be any sponsorship because on many occasions a local business would want to support and be associated with an event. I attended an event in the museum in Ypres where Google has sponsored the recording of all the Irish who were lost in the First World War. There is also an opportunity for graduates to go there to study. In that respect we can sometimes marry with businesses on this issue to achieve a good outcome.

In terms of funding for the institutions, this is the first time in six years there has not been a cut in funding. In terms of my job, as the economy improves I hope I will be able to look for more money for the arts. I assure you I will be doing that.

On the artists exemption, we got that increased in the last budget. It was €40,000 and is now increased to €50,000 for artists so they can earn up to €50,000 per annum tax free.