Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I hope I will be allowed ten minutes in which to speak. If the Minister wants to revert to me afterwards, that will be no problem, much as I like to discuss matters across the floor of the House.

Before the summer recess, I stated the National Gallery, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Crawford Art Gallery had made a very positive submission on shared services, stipulating, however, that each would retain its autonomy, board and director. The proposal was to share back-office resources, thus making savings. I asked the Minister to use this example when considering the rationalisation of services in the other cultural institutions. I acknowledged at the time in question that savings must be made. It is in light of this that we are here talking about philanthropy and how we can resource the arts sector. Given the financial constraints, no Minister has the resources he would like to have for the Arts Council and the various cultural bodies that do invaluable work in communities throughout the country.

The potential of the arts sector has not been reached. Investment by the Government in the arts is repaid many times over due to the multiplier effect. It is important, therefore, that we consider philanthropy. Ireland is a very generous nation. Figures show that 89% of Irish adults give to charity, compared with 58% in the United Kingdom and 40% in Germany. However, our charitable donations do not seem to go to the arts but to other causes, such as addressing the consequences of natural disasters, and to those who are less well off than ourselves. Therefore, we must consider how best to encourage businesses and wealthy individuals to invest in the arts sector in order that services would be prioritised and maintained.

Earlier this year, the Minister launched the philanthropy leverage initiative. It was established with funding of €230,000. It was envisaged that twice this amount would be unlocked in private sector funding, generating total funding of €805,000 for this year. The initiative was established as a pilot initiative. Will the Minister confirm whether he intends to maintain this scheme in 2013 and thereafter? How many groups have benefited from it or received allocations? Are the allocations still in the melting pot, as with the sports capital grants? What are the qualifying criteria for applicants who have applied for funding under the scheme? If the scheme is continued next year, what funding will be made available?

As a former board member of the Mullingar Arts Centre, I saw at first hand the positive impact of the arts sector on the local economy as well as its role as an educational utility for the young and old. The number of children who visit the centre every week is phenomenal. Local productions in arts centres throughout the country are encouraging.

Perhaps the Minister has clarified the next matter I wish to raise. How will the philanthropy initiative progress, what level of funding will it have and how will businesses and high net worth individuals be encouraged in practical terms to part with their money in support of arts centres? Are there concrete proposals and targets in this regard? One can only measure the success of a scheme or initiative if one has set clear and concrete targets. How much funding does the Government wish to extract from the private sector and how does it propose to do so?

Today, we received a briefing in the audio-visual room on the extensive work carried out in respect of The Gathering. It is a good project. Some of those involved have been visiting two towns in my constituency this week and last to brief local organisations, including the IFA, the GAA, chambers of commerce among others, and encourage them to support the initiative. Although The Gathering falls under the remit of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, will play a leading role. Our cultural institutions will be pivotal, as returning members of the diaspora will want to visit them. I hope the Minister will have managed by then to protect the institutions' autonomy, the services they provide and their invaluable work. We will wait to see what comes out in the wash, but I hope that the Minister will have managed to protect the arm's length principle.

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