Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

No. Is féidir le Teachta Ó Cuív teacht ar ais tar éis Teachta Michael Collins agus Teachta Danny Healy-Rae. Bhí orthu fanacht, so is féidir leis fanacht freisin.

In 2017 the Taoiseach committed to double arts funding within seven years. Two budgets later, current spending on culture and arts has increased by 13.8%. Obviously, the increase is welcome. Is it still Government policy to double arts funding or was that a claim made in the context of the Fine Gael leadership contest? Is it possible to achieve a 100% increase within seven years? Does the Minister intend to make good on that commitment?

I wish to support the point made by Deputy Ó Snodaigh but do not require the Minister to respond. I ask that she take my point into account. Although the funding provided for commemorations last year is welcome, it is nowhere near what was provided in 2016. The 2016 programme was very successful and many communities availed of it. It increased the capacity for commemorations as many organisations are in a strong position to plan programmes once they are given adequate notice. The programme under the local authorities was a great success but this year, 2020 and 2021 are crucial and sufficient funding will be required.

Creative Ireland is a multi-departmental and multi-agency strategy. Is the Minister satisfied that she is receiving adequate co-operation and buy-in from the agencies involved?

How much of the money being spent on Creative Ireland is going towards design?

My final question relates to an area that is in the programme allocation breakdown. I want to understand how this came about. According to media commentary and Government statements, responsibility for funding provided for the Cork event centre has transferred to the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. This has been an ongoing issue for several years. It has been a torturous process and there is considerable frustration about it in Cork. Some of this frustration has been caused by the lack of clarity and transparency. The Government is saying there is a clear funding commitment. The public, Opposition Deputies and councillors do not know what the commitment is and are no clearer about the timeline. What is the timeline and what is the role of the Department of Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht if the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government is now the lead Department? Why did the lead role change? When will everything that has been agreed, not all of which is necessarily in the public domain, be known? Is the project fully in compliance with the legal restrictions that the Department was trying to overcome?