Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Two weeks ago, I met with local authority arts officers to discuss their concerns and their ideas for the future. Following on from that, I am looking for ways which would improve communication and linkages between the arts officers and other stakeholder bodies. I understand that the Arts Council is examining new, more informative and transparent ways of presenting information on the combined local authority and Arts Council funding of the arts. At present, the council’s website gives details of all funding distributed to local authorities and to arts organisations in each local authority area.

Recommendation No. 4 proposes that my Department becomes the primary source of all funding to the arts, both through local authorities and directly to arts organisations. At present, the Arts Council is the main channel of State support for the arts. I believe that the Arts Council has served the arts and this country well for over 60 years. I do not envisage any fundamental change in the institutional arrangements which encompass the arm's length approach of Arts Council distribution of Exchequer funding to the arts. Expertise on the arts resides in the Arts Council and it is therefore best placed to identify and fund excellence in the arts. My Department is currently considering this report in more detail.

I was delighted recently to launch in the GPO Ireland 2016 with the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister of State, Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin. This is a national initiative led by my Department which will develop, co-ordinate and deliver a programme of activity to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising. This programme will be underpinned by the €4 million I secured in the recent budget which will be used to roll out an integrated plan during 2015. Community involvement is key to having a lasting and meaningful commemoration and the framework launched recently will facilitate that engagement. In the coming three months a dedicated team in my Department will actively engage with communities, schools, relative groups, colleges, businesses, voluntary organisations, arts and cultural institutions, historical societies and local government. In conjunction with local authorities, a series of meetings will be held to facilitate "ground up" initiatives in order that local communities can get involved and put their own shape on the commemorations as we move towards 2016. A vibrant culture programme with an international dimension will be finalised in co-operation with the national cultural institutions, the Arts Council of Ireland and Culture Ireland.

The relatives of those who fought and died during the 1916 Rising will play a central role in a number of key State events. I am engaging actively with this grouping. I will also be working with the Minister for Education and Skills to develop arts programmes in schools. We will build on the links developed during The Gathering to reach out to local communities and the Diaspora. In addition to this, the committee will be aware that earlier this year the Government allocated €22 million - for 2015 - for seven flagship commemorative projects to be finalised in time for Easter 2016. They include the building of an interpretive centre at the GPO, refurbishment works at the original barracks, the upgrade of Kilmainham Courthouse and Gaol, the restoration of the historical Kevin Barry Room in the National Concert Hall, the development of a new visitor centre at Teach an Phiarsaigh, Ros Muc, the restoration of 14 Henrietta Street as a tenement museum and the development of Cathal Brugha Barracks to support a new military service pension archives facility. Each of these projects will deepen our understanding of the history of the period and provide an enduring and permanent tribute to those involved in the Rising.

In addition, we published an outline programme of official State events to be held at Easter 2016. These events will honour those who took part in the Rising in an appropriate and respectful manner. I will be happy to go into this in more detail if need be. I look forward to working with the expert advisory group and my colleagues in the Oireachtas all-party consultation group. I would welcome any view the committee would like to share today.

That brings me to the issue of the Moore Street national monument. I share the committee’s desire to see a fitting testament to the leaders of the 1916 Rising being put in place on the site. I will continue to support and encourage efforts to secure progress insofar as it is open to me to do so and it is within my remit under the National Monuments Acts. As the committee knows from its own interactions in the case, 14 to 17 Moore Street are the subject of a preservation order under the National Monuments Acts. The preservation order was put in place in 2007 to protect 16 Moore Street as the site of the final Council of War and the final headquarters of the leaders of the Rising. To enhance and protect the setting and amenity of 16 Moore Street, the preservation order covers 14, 15 and 17 Moore Street. As a consequence of the 2007 preservation order, works affecting the monument buildings require the consent of the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. After extensive deliberations, final consent under the National Monuments Acts was given by my predecessor in April for the creation of a 1916 commemorative centre in the monument buildings, involving the full repair and conservation of the structures, both internally and externally. I am satisfied that the decision made in April provides the means to secure the future of one of the most important sites in modern Irish history. I have visited the national monument and been through the entire site and surrounding area. During my visit I spoke to a number of the Moore Street traders who were very supportive of the plans for the monument and the proposals to redevelop the greater area.

The committee will be aware of the land swap deal that recently was placed before Dublin City Council. I am disappointed that the members of the council chose not to support this plan which would have released NAMA funding for the development of an appropriate tribute on Moore Street to the leaders and events of the 1916 Rising. The proposal put before the council provided a real opportunity to have the restoration work completed and the commemorative centre open in time for the centenary of the Rising in 2016. Following the vote to reject the proposal, it is now a matter for the council and the monument owners to consider the implications for the national monument buildings, the NAMA funding for the proposed restoration project and the centenary commemorations in 2016. 0

The granting of consent under the National Monument Acts completes my Department’s function in this case. I will, however, continue to support all appropriate initiatives to secure the restoration of the national monument, consistent with my statutory function under the National Monuments Acts and the roles and responsibilities of the other interested parties involved. In that context, I will shortly be meeting the members of Dublin City Council’s Moore Street advisory committee again to go through the process with them and encourage them to try to advance a solution that will see the restoration project moving forward.

As I mentioned, the 1916 centenary commemorations is a key priority for the Department in the coming year. I will also be working on the continued development and delivery of a rolling programme of commemorations along the decade of centenaries timeline. It is also my intention to publish the National Concert Hall Bill and I look forward to receiving the committee’s report on it in order that this matter can be progressed as a priority. Other key priorities for me will be the development of a national cultural policy, Culture 2025, which will set out the high level aims and policies in the area of culture for the period up until 2025. My Department is drafting a discussion paper which will be published early in the new year to facilitate a public consultation on this offer. This is the first time in the history of the State that any Government has undertaken such an endeavour.

I take the opportunity to mention the Arts in Education charter, something I am very eager to progress. Making the arts more accessible will be a cornerstone of my ministry. Immersing school students in the arts through a targeted strategy will benefit future generations and give young people a greater understanding and appreciation of the arts as they progress to adulthood. A high level implementation group chaired by Professor John Coolahan, professor emeritus at NUI, Maynooth, was set up to oversee implementation of the charter. This group meets very regularly and progress is being made on a number of initiatives, including increasing the number of artists in residence in colleges of education and developing a portal as a key communications and information channel for both the education and arts sectors. Suitable models for artists to become involved in the programme are also being examined by the group.

Since the Government took office, a huge effort has also been made to resolve the issue of the protection of Ireland's raised bog special areas of conversation, SAC, within the framework of the habitats directive. This has included intense engagement with turf cutting interests, farmers, non-governmental organisations and the European Commission. A long-term compensation scheme was introduced to compensate cutters for their loss. The Government published Ireland's first ever draft national peat lands strategy last January and I hope to be in a position to finalise the strategy early in the new year. It sets out the Government's view on how we can collectively manage our peatlands for many interests, including continued cutting, conservation, recreation and other uses. It also sets the wide use of peatlands in the context of Ireland's carbon reduction obligations. My Department will also continue to move forward next year with the national raised bog SAC management plan, the implementation of the compensation scheme which has been extended to raised bog natural heritage area sites and progressing the relocation of turf cutters to non-designated bogs. On the issue of wider habitats protection, I have recently obtained approval for Ireland's first ever prioritised action plan to focus attention on those protected habitats which need to be improved. Addressing our peatlands restoration objectives is very much part of this new plan, as are new agri-environment measures being rolled out by the Department Agriculture, Food and the Marine as part of the green low carbon agri-environment, GLAS, scheme.

My Department has worked closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on these issues to ensure farmers are incentivised to manage our most important habitats in a sustainable manner.

My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, also has a number of priorities regarding the Irish language and Gaeltacht areas. The cornerstone of Government policy on the Irish language is its 20 year strategy for the period 2010 to 2030. My Department has an overarching co-ordinating role in implementing the strategy in conjunction with a range of key stakeholders. Progress is being made in a systematic manner across many measures under the strategy, allowing for the resources available. My Department is implementing the language planning process under the Gaeltacht Act 2012 in conjunction with Údarás na Gaeltachta and Foras na Gaeilge. Priority is being given to the Gaeltacht language planning areas identified for the purposes of the Act.

The committee may be aware that the official languages (amendment) Bill 2014 is on the A list of the Government's legislative programme and is being drafted. Subject to Government approval, it is hoped the Bill will be published by the end of the year. Following an extensive public consultation process, the Bill provides for amendments to the Official Languages Act 2003 in accordance with the commitment in the programme for Government. As the committee will be aware, my Department is the joint sponsor, with the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland, on two North-South Implementation Bodies, Waterways Ireland and the Language Body. The Departments work together to support the work of the bodies in each jurisdiction.

In addition to progressing North-South co-operation, my key priority is progressing the first stage of the Ulster Canal project from upper Lough Erne to Castle Saunderson, near Belturbet, County Cavan. I am working on this with the Government and other key partners, including the North-South Ministerial Council and Waterways Ireland.

My Department continues to fund the provision of essential transport services to the offshore islands as part of its role in assisting the sustainable development of island communities. I understand the Chairman has a particular interest in the passenger service between Long Island, County Cork, and the mainland. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, will be happy to address that matter.

Regarding offshore islands outside the Gaeltacht, I understand the local and community development programme officially ended at the end of 2013 but is being implemented on a transitional basis until the end of March 2015, pending the roll-out of the new programme, the social inclusion and community activation programme in April 2015. Officials from my Department have met senior officials from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to discuss the situation regarding community development offices on non-Gaeltacht islands. It has been agreed that we will work together to ensure the services they provide are retained and that both Departments will examine ways of supporting the continuation of these vital island structures and services. I am confident that an appropriate solution will be found in co-operation with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.

I thank committee members for giving me the opportunity to address them today. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, and I will e happy to answer their questions.