Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The 2021 total gross funding allocated to my Department, as per the budget Estimates, amounts to €1.082 billion. This represents an increase of €79 million, or 8%, on the 2020 allocation as published in the further Revised Estimates for my Department. Those Revised Estimates included additional funding of €183 million, secured during 2020, to deal with the impacts of Covid-19 and to ensure the survival and recovery of businesses and operations in the sectors for which I have ministerial responsibility. The revised 2020 figures represented an increase of some 25% on the total comparable figure for the relevant programme areas in 2019. In broad terms, the 2021 funding for these sectors will represent an increase of 35% on what was available to them in 2019 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Our cultural institutions, theatres, tourist destinations, pubs, restaurants, sporting occasions and Gaeltacht communities have been severely impacted since the beginning of the pandemic in March. The increased funding secured as part of budget 2021 is a testament to my commitment and that of the Government to ensure a range of robust funding streams and targeted measures are available to support resilience and recovery across these sectors, including a new €55 million support fund for strategic tourism businesses, €50 million in support for the live entertainment industry, record funding of €130 million for the Arts Council, €8 million to provide for the transfer of the National Symphony Orchestra to the National Concert Hall, more than €78 million allocated to the Gaeltacht and Irish language sector, €31.8 million for Údarás na Gaeltachta, €104.5 million for Sport Ireland, increased funding of €40.7 million for TG4, and additional funding for Irish language broadcasting to meet New Decade, New Approach commitments. As Minister, I am satisfied that the increase in funding to €1.082 billion secured as part of budget 2021 will support resilience and recovery across the diverse sectors for which I have responsibility and allow them to thrive once more on the global stage in the fields of tourism, culture, sport, language and public service media.

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