Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 41: To ask the Minister for Arts; Heritage and the Gaeltacht if there are financial or physical resource responses required for any of the initiatives within his remit that were identified at the Global Irish Economic Forum; the resources that might be forthcoming and the source or sources of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30044/11]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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At the second Global Irish Economic Forum, organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin Castle on 7 and 8 October, there was a continuing focus on the key role of arts and culture as Ireland's global calling card, building on the strategic recognition at the first forum at Farmleigh in 2009 that for a small country we have arguably the largest global cultural reach and presence of any nation. There was broad agreement that the success of the forum will be measured by practical implementation and delivery, and in that respect there was wide acknowledgement that the cultural field had already delivered a number of key initiatives since the first forum, including the new position of cultural ambassador and the roll-out of Imagine Ireland, Culture Ireland's strategic promotion of Irish arts in the United States throughout this year.

A range of proposals for new cultural initiatives was discussed at the forum, and many received a very positive response. There was a broad sense that the momentum generated by Imagine Ireland thisyear in the US needs to be consolidated, while at the same time planning a strategic programme of cultural engagement with Europe in the context of our forthcoming Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers in 2013. Another frequent theme was the importance of building a sustained engagement with Asia, and in particular China, over the medium to long term.

My suggestion to designate St. Patrick's Day as a day of Irish culture at home and abroad generated much interest. The proposal to organise a world actors' forum in Dublin along the lines of a "cultural Davos" was strongly welcomed, as was the idea to convene a conference on strengthening philanthropic partnerships between business and the arts. There was also an emphasis on the value and impact of enhancing digital access to Ireland's cultural heritage, including the holdings of the national cultural institutions and the 1926 census.

I hope to take forward these ideas, which I believe have the potential to deliver strong strategic benefits for the country, working with my Government colleagues and building on the great sense of energy and commitment demonstrated by the members of the Global Irish Network who attended the forum. Many of these initiatives clearly have a resource implication, and I will be taking that into consideration in discussions with my Government colleagues as part of the budget process. In this regard, I understand that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is preparing a report on the outcome of the forum, which I anticipate will be considered by the Government shortly.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Essentially I wanted to find out whether there are resource implications to this, and whether there will be an opportunity to use them if we are making commitments. This is the second forum and one of the surprising aspects to the first forum was how strongly arts and heritage featured. When stimulating something like the tourism sector, there seems to be a greater focus on tangible results, such as VAT reductions or an increase in the number of bed nights, over and above the things that are the reason people come here.

Would the Minister agree that we cannot keep having these fora if there is to be no outturn from them? We could waste a lot of goodwill if we do not deliver something tangible as a consequence of the forum itself.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Deputy. Following the first Farmleigh meeting, we created the post of cultural ambassador to America, and I would like to recognise the work that Gabriel Byrne is doing on behalf of this country in America. He is certainly making a major impact. Imagine Ireland has also had a major impact in America. For example, over 1,200 artists have participated in the programme this year, with 500 events in 40 states. Over half a million people saw live performances of traditional Irish music. Druid Theatre toured America with The Cripple of Inishmaan, leveraged about €1.2 million from an investment of €200,000 and made a major impact across the country. Imagine Ireland and the cultural ambassador have been two very effective initiatives.

Another successful initiative has been the heritage certificate. It was presented by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to one of the families affected by the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. Former President Clinton was also presented with a heritage certificate at Dublin Castle. This has encouraged major interest from America. Fexco, which has the contract to roll out the heritage certificate, has employed between 50 and 60 people to do that job. These are very tangible results. I totally agree with the Deputy that unless there are tangible results and unless we can show something for the efforts of these people, then obviously they will get frustrated.

There is a proposal in the programme for Government to examine the possibility of a second cultural night. I will be answering a question on that shortly. Rather than having a second cultural night, we could have a culture day or culture week and we could build this around St. Patrick's Day, when we get huge attention across the world. We should look seriously at promoting Irish culture through the celebration of St. Patrick's Day, given that it is the focus of attention all over the world.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Is the report to which the Minister referred likely to be available before the budget? Is it likely to influence the allocation of additional funding in the Department if there are aspects which require funding?

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I certainly hope it will be available because it will be used in deciding how resources are to be spent. Resources are and will be available, but it is a question of priorities. The attention the St. Patrick's Day celebrations attract for the country across the world was the subject of much positive reaction in Dublin Castle. Without making a total commitment, I will be pushing the idea with the Government to see what we can do. It may be on a small scale next year with the idea continuing in subsequent years when we can provide more funding.