Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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17. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment for an update on the co-ordination between his Department and the Department of Health, in particular in the delivery of community-based and national health promotion programmes assisting people on how they can identify supports in improving their mental health; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52512/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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In July 2025, the first strategy action plan for creative arts and health was published as a joint policy document by the Department and the Department of Health. This is a key milestone in a policy partnership that began in 2020 in response to Covid. The plan aims to create a framework that can address the intersectoral and structural issues necessary to embed arts and health in a systemic way in Ireland in order to realise the potential of participation in creative and cultural activity as a positive health behaviour. The vision of the plan is that people living in Ireland have access to creative and cultural activity as part of a holistic health journey throughout their lives, supporting better health and well-being outcomes and enriching the creative and artistic landscape. Funding for the arts and health under the plan includes over €2 million from my Department for the creative health and wellbeing in the community scheme to support collaboration between Creative Ireland and healthy Ireland teams in the local authorities.

The key focus of this initiative is supporting better mental health through participation in creative and cultural activities. Under the auspices of the plan, a number of innovative actions are being progressed, including the next iteration of the Traveller health and wellbeing through creativity scheme; the development of arts and health training for medical undergraduates; and support for the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing in Trinity College Dublin to provide further research evidence for the benefits of participation in creative and cultural activity. The Department and the Department of Health have also co-funded a music in nursing homes scheme, through which local authorities bring professional musicians with musical performances to residents.

The benefits of sport and physical activity to physical and mental health are well proven. In partnership with the Department of Health under the healthy Ireland fund, Sport Ireland delivers a wide range of projects and programmes designed to increase the population's participation in sport and physical activity through the network of local sport's partnerships, recognised national governing bodies for sports and other relevant sporting organisations. Through initiatives such as Get Ireland Active and Get Ireland Walking, the outdoor swimming infrastructure scheme, and the physical activity for health programme, we are addressing key health challenges and breaking down barriers to participation in sport.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister. It is accepted that the more people get out of their own homes and are involved in community activities makes a huge difference to their mental health. It is important we continue to promote that but it is important there is co-ordination between Departments as well, especially regarding the cultural area. The Minister mentioned the issue of nursing homes. One example of people getting involved is a group in my own constituency, Mayfield Men's Sheds, whose members visit two different nursing homes every week providing music. They have a very good musical team. A number of them are very talented and they provide entertainment in the nursing homes, which is extremely helpful for the nursing homes. It is projects like that that can be helpful to people, especially in rural communities where people can feel very isolated. I refer to the importance of community activity and making sure we have that support in place for people who may not be involved in sports clubs but want to get involved in cultural events.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I could not agree with the Deputy. It is appropriate that his question has landed just as the Minister for Health has landed to the Chamber because this is an initiative that both Departments work on. The Minister and I are due to visit some nursing homes in the not too distant future to see the work that has taken place between the Department of Health and Creative Ireland. The Deputy is right. It is important that people are given a stimulus regardless of their age. Age should have no bearing on whether they participate in sport or cultural activity. Age should be no impediment or barrier to doing that; neither should someone's place of residence or their mobility or disability. The disability strategy I referred to goes a long way to that but we still have a lot of work to do in this space and in the collaboration between Sport Ireland, Creative Ireland, the HSE, my Department and that of the Minister for Health over the next number of months and years. We have ambition in this space. If Covid taught us anything it is that we cannot just leave our elderly with a radio, to be looked at through a sheet a glass. That is not stimulus and is not what anybody wants for anybody who is in an institution. They might be well looked after but there is more to life than that.

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I thank the Minister. Unfortunately, that concludes questions to the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport as we are out of time.