Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The importance and impact of culture is an essential element of our identity, profile, confidence and place in the world. I am convinced, based on the information available to me on those employed and engaged in the wider arts and culture sphere, that there is tremendous potential for enhanced opportunities to transform this landscape into the future.

This optimism is driven and borne out by recent reports examining the importance of the arts, culture and creative sectors for the economy. A DKM report produced last year stated that in the first quarter of 2009 employment in the arts and culture sector stood at 22,400, not including the indirect and induced employment multipliers. DKM also estimated that the direct value added of the arts, culture and creative sectors combined in 2008 was €3.1 billion or 2% of total GNP. Those are not just statistics. They represent real, imaginative, enthusiastic and committed people all over the country deeply involved in their chosen artistic or cultural endeavour. All of those contribute to the fabric of our cultural and social lives and make a difference in so doing. It is vital that they continue to be supported and enabled to make a living from their talents. We must value these attributes both from an economic, cultural and social point of view.

On the economic front, over the past year and particularly arising from the global Irish economic forum held in Farmleigh, culture has come into renewed focus as a unique national asset and our greatest competitive advantage as a "door opener" in developing important economic and tourism links. Culture Ireland will continue to ensure the ongoing promotion of Irish artists worldwide with the aim of generating goodwill and influence for Ireland and highlighting the strength of Irish culture and creativity. In working in close partnership with other State agencies, including the Irish Film Board, Tourism Ireland and the IDA, Culture Ireland will focus on the opportunities to use our culture to bring about positive results in tourism and trade initiatives. The recent appointment of Ireland's first cultural ambassador will enhance further the benefits of our cultural offering.

In the context of my Department's role as the parent Ministry for a number of agencies and institutions in the tourism and culture sectors, the cultural tourism initiative was launched in February 2009 to develop the exciting potential of cultural tourism, by focusing on increasing the extent to which the organisations under the aegis of my Department would combine their expertise and resources in this area.

The cultural tourism initiative also facilitated closer co-operation between the State tourism agencies and the Irish Film Board to exploit the tourism opportunities presented by film and television production in Ireland. The implementation and realisation of those and other initiatives are set to streamline the activities of those sectors and so help to highlight and harness the employment potential of the many attractions throughout the State. In 2009, visitor numbers to the cultural institutions supported by my Department increased by 1% to 3.08 million. The film and audiovisual sectors have consistently proven to be employment generating and profile raising areas of the cultural landscape. The Irish audio content production sector review published in December 2008 demonstrated the employment of more than 7,000 individuals involved in more than 600 production companies, service providers and post-production companies. There also exists a substantial freelance pool of highly creative, committed and flexible individuals and entities.

For 2007, the audiovisual content production sector was valued at €557.3 million. In 2008, the Irish Film Board production funding of €16.7 million for feature film, TV and animation helped generate production activity worth a total of €128.8 million. That was an increase of 61.4% on 2007 figures. Due to the consistent, high quality standards of work, connections and professionalism in the business and through the support of the Irish Film Board new projects continue to come on-stream. The now continuous flow of prestigious international awards for Irish film-makers is crucial to bringing further business here. The recent decision to locate a new production of "Camelot" at Ardmore Studios is further testament to this confidence and commitment which will generate and consolidate the engagement of those crews whose previous experiences will again be called upon.

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