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

Is cúis áthais dom an deis a fháil an Teach a chur ar an eolas faoin maoiniú iomlán de luach €1.27 billiún atá curtha ar fáil do mo Roinn i mbuiséad 2025. Tabharfaidh mé achoimre freisin ar chuid de na bearta lena ndéanfar cothú, feabhsú agus forbairt ar na hearnálacha a bhfuil freagracht agam astu.

The sectors supported by my Department form a vital part of the mortar which binds society on this island together. They give us a sense of our identity, both individually and as a nation, set against the backdrop of increasing global challenges. These sectors also provide significant levels of employment in all areas of the country. They lift the lives and spirits of those living here and visitors through sporting participation and fandom, through cultural preservation and presentation and they foster an ecology for new, exciting and vibrant cultural expression.

The Irish language forms a unique cornerstone of who we are and the richness of the history behind us. In an age of increasing falsehood, the security of an independent media in all its forms and on all its platforms is crucial to maintaining a sense of truth locally, nationally and internationally. The global challenges are momentous, with increased global conflict and increasingly damaging weather events as a result of climate change. Against this setting, the contribution of the creative energies and community participation fostered by the sectors in my Department is more important than ever.

My departmental colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, will address the House on specific measures around sport and Gaeltacht elements. I will focus on the sectors of tourism, culture, and media. Budget 2025 maintains and increases funding across a wide range of key initiatives. Additional current funding of €54 million has been provided as well as retention into the baseline expenditure of my Department of the €57 million in non-core funding provided in 2024. A further €16 million in capital uplift has been allocated, including provision for funding across culture, Gaeltacht and tourism sectors under the shared island initiative.

The 2025 allocation of €226.3 million for tourism will allow Tourism Ireland to continue its major marketing campaigns overseas and facilitate Fáilte Ireland in continuing its work in areas such as destination development, tourism careers and home holiday promotion. It will also support both agencies in enhancing the tourist experience and supporting tourism businesses in Ireland in areas such as festivals, digital transformation and sustainability. To this end, the allocation to the tourism marketing fund has increased to €61.4 million. This support will be crucial to ensure Ireland’s presence is maintained for longer-term success in an increasingly complex and competitive marketplace. I have put in place a specific fund of €3.2 million to extend the tourism season and ensure all regions of the country benefit, thus supporting tourism businesses. This includes funding for the delivery of a new business events strategy; additional funding under the regional co-operative access scheme to support new and existing access to regional air and sea ports and funding to support both tourism agencies to continue to develop and promote Ireland as the home of Hallowe'en. Budget 2025 also sees a continuation of Government capital support for the development and enhancement of the tourism product, with €36.5 million in capital funding allocated for new attractions and projects.

As regards arts and culture, Irish artists are reaching new heights in terms of international recognition and I am pleased, therefore, that funding totalling €379.7 million has been secured for this sector for 2025. In political life, I have made no secret of my personal background in the arts and my affinity for all forms of art and music in particular. The almost doubling of arts funding compared with budget 2020, the last budget before I took office, has been achieved through record increases in funding for the Arts Council, Screen Ireland, Culture Ireland and Creative Ireland and through a major programme of investment in our national cultural institutions. The basic income for the arts is the signature legacy achievement of this Government in arts funding, and the achievement of which I am most proud. I acknowledge the role of the National Campaign for the Arts, which has been an effective voice for the sector and a tireless advocate for a basic income.

I am pleased to announce that the budget provides for a record €140 million funding for the Arts Council in recognition of the transformational impact of this funding and to support the sector. It also provides record funding of €8 million for the Culture Ireland programme to showcase Ireland’s talent on international stages. Additional funding of €3.8 million, including pay, has been provided to the national cultural institutions to support the sustained protection and presentation of our national collections. Screen Ireland has been allocated a budget of €40.9 million which will assist in talent development and retention and build on the success of the audiovisual sector in recent years. The basic income for the arts scheme, which I launched in 2022, has maintained its funding of €35 million in 2025. It was essential that this funding was maintained to allow flexibility for a successor support beyond the August expiry of the pilot.

Furthermore, as announced by the Minister for Finance, the section 481 film tax credit will receive a further 8% uplift for feature film productions, with a maximum qualifying expenditure of €20 million to help the sector remain competitive and build on recent international successes, subject to state aid approval. I also welcome the announcement by the Minister, Deputy Chambers, that his Department will monitor trends in the VFX sector internationally over the coming year with a view to introducing a specific measure in budget 2026. The new tax credit for unscripted production, subject to European Commission approval, will also be a boost for the sector.

Funding for the media and broadcasting sector in 2025 will total €328.3 million. A healthy, vibrant and sustainable media sector is a key pillar of a modern, democratic society. This Government has committed itself to addressing the range of challenges which face the sector in light of changes in the ways we consume media and falling revenue for traditional media in an increasingly digitised market.

In budget 2025 we are providing a further €6 million that will be ring-fenced to support the provision of news and current affairs by independent broadcasters, including local and regional radio stations. This will require legislative changes, which I will bring to Government later this month. This will also include all of the local and regional radio stations, commercial national radio stations such as Newstalk and Today FM and Virgin Media Television.

At the same time, I am also increasing the allocation to be made available for the media fund schemes recommended by the Future of Media Commission. Over the summer, the first of these schemes were rolled out on a pilot basis with an allocation of €6 million. For 2025, I have secured an additional €4 million for two further schemes, including digital transformation, bringing the total allocation next year to €10 million.

TG4 funding is being increased to €60 million. In 2020, when this Government took office, the allocation was just €37 million, an increase of 62%. Building on these previous increased allocations, the funding provided for next year will enable TG4 to consolidate gains in the quantity and quality of Irish-language content.

I am aware that my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, needs to speak. I am confident that the ongoing commitments to my Department reflected in the 2025 allocation will lead to a sustainable and strengthened tourism industry, an invigorating arts and culture sector with increased opportunity for creatives, continued national and international sporting success and participation and greater development of the Irish language and its usage.

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