Dáil debates

Tuesday, 8 December 2015

2:50 pm

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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46. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when Culture 2025 will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43497/15]

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister has committed herself to the production of a national cultural policy and promised that it will be published in early 2016. I do not doubt that this is a very worthwhile exercise. I understand that the process of consultation throughout the country concluded on 31 October or thereabouts. Can the Minister guarantee that this report will be published very quickly?

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The aim of the new national cultural policy, Culture 2025, is to set out the high level aims and policies of the Government in this area for the period until 2025. It will seek to reinforce the crucial role of culture in society by supporting the cultural sector and providing conditions that will allow the sector to develop and flourish across all sectors of society. Culture 2025 will seek to reflect the modern multicultural Ireland. The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht published a discussion document on 8 August last to facilitate public consultation on the proposed policy. This was followed up by holding a series of local workshops to enable people across the country to have their views heard. Meetings took place in Cavan, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Kilkenny and Dublin. I attended the Dublin event, which followed the participative world café model and was held under the open policy debates programme in line with the Civil Service renewal plan. I am pleased to inform the House that this event, which was held in the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, was a great occasion with a high level of engagement from those attending. I thank all those who participated in the various consultation events, which were attended by over 600 people, and those who were involved in organising and running them. More than 200 written submissions were received before the closing date of 31 October last. The feedback from the regional meetings and the submissions are being examined in detail as part of the process of drafting the cultural policy. An expert group and a steering group established by my Department and comprising a range of cultural stakeholders are also making an input into the process of consultation and drafting. I intend that Culture 2025 will be a high level and living document that will set out the framework of cultural policy for the next decade. I propose to submit it to the Government shortly with the intention of publishing it early in the new year.

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Is this document going to be published before the general election, while the Minister is still in her current position? I assume she values the initiative she has been involved in. Are any big creative ideas emerging from the worthwhile consultation that has happened and the written submissions that have been received?

For example, will they address key areas? The Minister spoke about the transition from being a relatively monocultural society to a society which is diverse. I was at a small rural school recently where 26 nationalities were represented, and Culture 2025 has to take some of this on board. It also has to look at the relationship between the Arts Council and the local authorities who have a greater role in arts and culture development. It must also underwrite funding commitments for the national cultural institutions which cannot be left to flounder without adequate funding.

2:55 pm

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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There was a consultation process and it was good to get out there. I attended two of the meetings and all the stakeholders came together for the final one in Kilmainham Hospital, Dublin. It was a great opportunity for stakeholders to make their views known to me and my Department and to network. Some people might say we are moving this too quickly but I am very anxious to move it forward. This is our first ever cultural policy and I am not saying we will get all of it right the first time. As I said, it will be a living document. I promised we would have a cultural consultation day in order that whoever is in this job next year will allow it to take place. It is important that all the stakeholders in the arts and the cultural sector engage.

The core strands to emerge included the intrinsic value of culture. Culture is of value in and of itself to each person living here and to those who visit, as well as something which benefits the economy. Ireland is an island of rich and diverse cultural activity and the policy should reflect this. Multiculture is for everyone. It should be fully inclusive and celebrate every aspect of every culture in the State. As the Deputy pointed out, schools throughout the country have many different nationalities and it is important to embrace other cultures to make our own culture richer.

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister will be publishing a strategy but many of us did not have the opportunity to engage in the consultations to the extent we might have and I have not seen the written submissions to the Department. Will the Minister give Members a commitment that she will publish the submissions, or at least a synopsis of them, in order that we can get an idea of the issues that arose at the consultations? This is important in order that we can all evaluate what came in and what the Department will ultimately produce.

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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This has been a very open process and we will publish all the submissions. We want to put together the policy on the basis of those submissions so it is important they are all included as far as possible in the policy document. I will check with my officials whether it is possible to put them all online as that would be a very good idea. This is a new venture and we may not get all of it right first time. It is a living document and will evolve and it is not a policy that will be left sitting on a shelf. We will continue to look at it and may change aspects of it in consultation with stakeholders.