Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Warfield is correct that the Taoiseach made the announcement in June 2017 that funding for arts, culture and sport would be doubled over the course of seven areas. The Department is in the process of negotiations in regard to the forthcoming budget so I cannot comment on my allocation for this year. I will give the Senator a flavour of what is happening. In 2017, the current allocation increased from €237 million to €249 million, a 5% increase, and the capital allocation increased from €51 million to €54 million, a 5.8% increase. I do not yet know the shape of this year's allocations. However, €1.2 billion is a great start in terms of the capital investment over ten years for culture, heritage and the Gaeltacht. It is a real signal of intent on making good a promise by the Government to deliver. It is unprecedented. Ultimately, everything the Department does is with a view to implementing the Government's commitment. The Senator will be aware of the steering group's oversight of the national development plan and delivery in this regard. As I said earlier, the National Library of Ireland has already commenced its plan and many of the other national cultural institutions are also working on their master plans.