Ms Katherine Licken:

On local authority budgets, the Deputy is right that this matter is not within the Department 's purview. We have, however, a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage under the Creative Ireland programme which commits to funding for the culture teams that Ms Banotti leads. It commits to both Departments funding those teams over a three-year period, and we hope to build on that.

On funding for the arts, we were very glad to get that extra €20 million into the Arts Council. It brings their funding up to €100 million, which is a historic high for the council. In the past three years, its budget has increased by something of the order of 50% to 54%. It is, therefore, going in the right direction, notwithstanding the huge challenges which the whole sector faces and which we deeply recognise.

On broadcasting, the programme for Government contains a commitment regarding a commission on the future of media generally. Obviously, the question of RTÉ and the model for public sector broadcasting, the funding thereof, what it commissions and what level of commissioning it does, will be in that mix. In the audiovisual sector we have, as the Deputy knows, increased funding for Screen Ireland and there are great synergies there between the whole public sector broadcasting area and the audiovisual sector. We already worked closely with the former Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and that function is now being brought into this Department so we hope to exploit those synergies even further.

On the other asks such as the PUP, etc., there are synergies with the tourism sector in the context of seasonal workers within that sector. We will be putting together packages in the context of the economic recovery stimulus package which the Government has said it will bring forward, so we will be working on that. Perhaps Mr. Falvey-----