Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Fáiltím roimh an deis labhairt leis an Roghchoiste um Thurasóireacht, Cultúr, Ealaíona, Spórt agus Meáin agus Meastachán Athbhreithnithe 2024 dar luach €1.2 billiún san iomlán do Vóta 33 do Réimsí Clár A, B, D agus E á bhreithniú. Tá áthas orm sonraí a sholáthar maidir leis na bearta suntasacha chun tacú leis na hearnálacha a bhfuil mé freagrach astu le tacaíocht ón mhaoiniú seo. Cuireann na hearnálacha seo go mór le geilleagar na tíre, agus tacaíonn siad le folláine an duine agus folláine an phobail ar fud na hÉireann chomh maith.

I thank the committee for inviting me today and providing the opportunity to outline and provide details of the allocations under my Department’s remit. My departmental colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, will address specific measures around sport and I will focus on the sectors of tourism, arts, culture and media.

The allocations under the Revised Estimates for 2024 provide continued support for a wide range of key funding programmes and initiatives. The 2024 allocation for tourism services amounts to €218.6 million and allows for continued assistance to the sector, which has recovered strongly over the past year. However, challenges remain and I am pleased to have retained much of the additional funding secured last year to help the sector to build to full recovery. In this regard, as part of budget 2024, funding of up to €10 million will provide support to and will be targeted at those downstream tourism businesses experiencing particular challenges linked to the reduction in footfall in regions most impacted by tourism accommodation stock displacement from our support for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. This programme of supports includes investment in sustainable tourism development and promotion, industry digitalisation, promotion of domestic tourism and festivals and recruitment and retention initiatives. My officials and Fáilte Ireland have engaged intensively on this scheme and I am advised that the scheme details will be finalised and published very soon. I am also looking to the longer term in assisting the tourism sector to increase its focus on climate change and sustainability.

In addition to sustaining core capacity in the industry, the 2024 funding allocation will also maintain support for domestic marketing initiatives and tourism product development. It will allow Tourism Ireland to explore new overseas marketing opportunities, particularly promoting activities and attractions in areas that are still on the road to recovery.

In respect of arts and culture, Irish artists are continuing to reach new heights of international recognition, and this is the result of sustained investment in arts and culture in recent years, including the basic income for arts pilot scheme. I am pleased, therefore, that funding totalling €369.3 million has been secured for this sector for 2024.

This funding allocation provides for a record €134 million of funding for the Arts Council to build on recent successes in the sector. It also provides an additional €1 million in funding for Culture Ireland to enhance the overseas promotion of Irish creative workers. Culture Ireland funding will be €7.6 million in 2024, which is a record for the programme.

Section 481, Ireland’s film tax relief, makes it possible to and will further enhance Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for major international film and television projects, building on the remarkable success of productions such as "The Banshees of Inisherin” and “An Cailín Ciúin”. The extension of this film tax relief to the end of December 2028 and the increase in the cap from €70 million to €125 million will give valuable certainty to our film industry and is very welcome news for the sector. An increased allocation of €39.5 million for Screen Ireland in 2024 will further support our audio-visual sector.

The 2024 funding allocation will also allow my Department to continue to support activity in relation to: the Creative Ireland programme, including the innovative creative climate action measures; the continued development of our night-time economy; the second year of the three-year basic income for the arts pilot scheme; and the sustained protection and presentation of our national collections through the work of the national cultural institutions and the redevelopment of a number of those institutions.

Funding for the media and broadcasting sector in 2024 will total €304.4 million. This includes an increased allocation to TG4 of €57 million, marking a total increase of almost €20 million since 2019. This funding will allow TG4 to support delivery of its strategy, and ensure the provision of high-quality Irish language audio-visual content. This investment also provides for the consolidation of the new Cúla4 service, which will enable the commissioning of additional content for children as a priority audience. A total of €6 million is being provided through the media fund for the local democracy reporting scheme and the courts reporting scheme, both of which are at an advanced stage of development and will be delivered in 2024. These schemes will enable media outlets to provide enhanced coverage of issues of concern to local communities and are an important element of public service broadcasting in Ireland. Additionally, €40 million is being provided in interim funding for RTÉ, following on from the recommendations of NewERA, and is directly linked to the delivery of RTÉ’s new strategic vision. This strategic vision is a five-year plan that will demonstrate a renewed commitment to public service broadcasting, and address key areas such as governance reforms and cost efficiencies. This plan is vital as RTÉ seeks to rebuild the public's trust and confidence in it.

In closing, I acknowledge the ongoing commitment of my Government colleagues to the sectors under the remit of my Department. While there have been significant challenges in these sectors in recent years, they remain robust and vital. They form a key part of our economy, are essential to our identity and are core contributors to well-being and social cohesion across the island of Ireland. I will hand over to the Minister of State who will address funding measures in the area of sport for 2024.