Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I know she has a keen interest in this programme.

On 8 December 2016 the Creative Ireland programme was launched as the Government's legacy programme arising out of the Ireland 2016 centenary programme as the main implementation vehicle for the priorities identified in Culture 2025 - Éire Ildánach. The Creative Ireland programme is a high-level, high-ambition five-year initiative from 2017 to 2022 building up to the centenary of the foundation of the State, which aims to place creativity at the centre of public policy. The programme is being led by my Department in partnership with other Departments and agencies, local authorities, the third level sector, arts and culture organisations, including the national cultural institutions, media organisations and relevant non-governmental organisations. The launch document for the programme identified ten actions for 2017 under the five specific pillars, namely, enabling the creative potential of every child, enabling creativity in every community, investing in our creative and cultural infrastructure, Ireland as a centre of excellence in media production and unifying our global reputation. I am glad to report that there has been significant progress regarding the delivery of the ten actions identified for 2017. Briefly, the position is as follows.

Under pillar 1, my Department is drawing up a five-year creative children plan for the period 2018-22 in conjunction with the Departments of Education and Skills and Children and Youth Affairs and the Arts Council, and this will be launched later this year.

Regarding pillar 2, a culture team has been established in each of the 31 local authorities, and each local authority has produced a 2017 Creative Ireland plan and is in the process of drawing up a more detailed 2018 creative plan setting out a five-year plan for local creativity. The first Cruinniú na Cásca, Ireland's new national culture day, was launched on Easter Monday with the theme "Inclusion and Diversity", and consideration is now being given to the approach to the cruinniú in 2018. Following consultation with my Department, a pilot scheme to assist self-employed artists who have applied for jobseeker's allowance has been put in place by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

Regarding pillar 3, work is progressing on the preparation of plans for the development of each national cultural institution to 2022, as well as a five-year capital investment programme for the culture and heritage sector.

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