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

The budget this year for Creative Ireland was €5 million. Of that, €1 million was used to facilitate local authorities to set up the Creative Ireland co-ordinators. Some €1.2 million was for Cruinniú na Cásca, which was a very successful cultural day on Easter Monday. We have a website and social media for getting the story out abroad. That is very important. In fact, our website, Ireland.ie, has received more than 2 million hits. These are people who are looking at Ireland.ieand seeing what we have to offer. It is important that we showcase our great strengths and our rich cultural heritage to the world.

With regard to the Irish Film Board, I will ask the board to write to Deputy Tóibín directly on the figures he has sought.

One of the pillars of the Creative Ireland plan is to make Ireland a centre of excellence for media production. I will continue to work closely with the Irish Film Board to ensure that this objective is achieved. There are many opportunities in this area. The Deputy is correct that culture is a wonderful calling card. According to IDA Ireland, it also a provides great opportunities to open doors.

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