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

I outlined the breakdown of the €8.5 million allocation, involving, among other things, €3 million for the Arts Council, €2.56 million for the cultural institutions, €1.55 million for the Irish Film Board and €1 million for the Creative Ireland project. As regards the Taoiseach's commitment, he said he wants to double funding for arts, culture and sport between now and 2025. He did not specifically say that he would double the Arts Council budget. There are many deserving bodies across the arts and culture spectrum, such as our national cultural institutions, the Irish Film Board, Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. I am pleased to say we increased funding across the board for arts and culture in budget 2018. The increases need to be incremental and sustainable because nobody wants to go back to the bad old days of reckless spending. As the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, has repeatedly stated, the unsustainable increases of today are the cutbacks of tomorrow.

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