Results 1,341-1,360 of 7,283 for speaker:Josepha Madigan

Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: I appreciate the reasons for Deputy Smyth asking this question but I strongly disagree. I believe the spend is justified, particularly in the first year of the programme. This is a communication platform across the board where we highlight the Creative Ireland programme. In the breakdown of the €5 million budget for 2017, while €900,000 went towards citizen engagement,...

Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: To clarify, the Arts Council receives the majority of my Department's allocation. It got €68 million, whereas Creative Ireland got only €6 million. They are completely different engines. We are not a funding body in the sense that the Arts Council is.

Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: The Deputy knows that related to grants for specific festivals. It is a very different matter.

Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: If I can answer the Deputy's question, we are talking about high quality resource material and interesting articles and interviews, which are all designed to be thought provoking and informative. They are not simply designed to advertise the Department or the programme. They are there to showcase the range of activities and amenities and the research into culture and creativity and to...

Priority Questions: Departmental Expenditure (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: The whole point of the engagement is to create awareness of it. I might add that this is together with the money all the local authorities in each different constituency received. The 31 of them have been using the moneys they got to create awareness as well. This all feeds into implementing the Culture 2025 programme, which is what Creative Ireland is all about.

Priority Questions: Archaeological Sites (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: The Hill of Tara, with its many earthwork monuments and long historical associations, is one of Ireland’s premier national monuments and is of international prominence and importance.  In recent years, it has been subject to extensive research by the Discovery Programme, funded by my Department, through which our knowledge and understanding of the site has been greatly increased....

Priority Questions: Archaeological Sites (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: I thank the Deputy for raising these concerns. I understand that Meath County Council is reviewing its county development plan. It will have to look at parking and traffic congestion around the Hill of Tara, and I understand that at the November meeting of Meath County Council's Ashbourne municipal district, the executive and members agreed to scope out and prepare a brief for the...

Priority Questions: Archaeological Sites (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: I appreciate the Deputy's concerns. As I mentioned in my original reply, there is a revised draft plan which we hope to have by mid-summer. It is focused on conservation and site management. Meath County Council will have to look at the car parking and toilet facilities issue. The Office of Public Works looks after the day-to-day management of the Hill of Tara. It is the symbolic capital...

Priority Questions: Bullying in the Workplace (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: As I have stated publicly, everyone, regardless of their job, is entitled to work in an atmosphere in which respect, dignity, fairness and equality are very much the norm. My Department is working closely with the Irish Theatre Institute with a view to putting in place a series of actions that will find an appropriate way forward for the theatre sector on this sensitive topic. On 16...

Priority Questions: Bullying in the Workplace (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: I really appreciate the Deputy's concerns. I was deeply saddened to hear of the allegations she mentioned in the Gate Theatre, and indeed in any sector. I am not in a position to comment on individual cases but what I can do is outline the measures we are taking to ensure this does not happen in the future. One of the measures is the holding of workshops and the closing date for tenders...

Priority Questions: Bullying in the Workplace (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: I have said that I was deeply distressed and upset to hear about these allegations. I am not in a position, as the Deputy will appreciate, to comment on individual cases but I hear her concerns. Regarding my own actions, as I mentioned, the details of an initiative are being finalised. My officials have engaged with the Irish Theatre Institute on making an announcement regarding this, and...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Creative Ireland Programme (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: The Creative Ireland programme is a cross-Government initiative to mainstream culture and creativity in the life of the nation and to promote individual, community and national well-being. It aims to put creativity at the centre of public policy. While the programme is under the aegis of my Department, its implementation will primarily be through and in collaboration with existing...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Creative Ireland Programme (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: I have not been to the opera house yet and will not pretend I have, although I have seen photographs. I like the opera and I intend to visit, I hope soon. Under my predecessor, the Department provided a grant for €250,000 for 2018. The Department also provides occasional capital grants to upgrade equipment at the opera house due to its significance. The Arts Council is, of course,...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Creative Ireland Programme (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: I have every intention to visit the opera house in Wexford. Other creative work is going on in the county, including Living Arts, the arts in schools programme in partnership with the Wexford Arts Centre and contemporary artists, and Film Wexford which seems to have taken off and aims to attract film companies to Wexford locations. There is also the Graves & Company project to...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Animal Welfare (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: I thank Deputy Daly for raising this issue. They are deplorable and illegal activities. Investigating incidents of badger baiting, fox baiting or digging out, as it is sometimes referred to, is one of a large number of actions and interventions carried out by field staff of my Department on an ongoing basis. Of my Department’s total staff, some 330 work in the area of...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Animal Welfare (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: As I said earlier, this is a deplorable and illegal activity in the case of badgers and foxes. While badgers are protected under the wildlife Acts, foxes are not but they do come under the Animal Health and Welfare Act and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. One issue which arises in this area is that of evidence. Those doing it must be literally caught in the act. It is...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Animal Welfare (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: If the Deputy or anyone she knows is aware of specific incidents, I ask that they please be reported to either An Garda Síochána or my Department. I believe the NPWS and An Garda Síochána communicate in a type of loose task force and there is also the memorandum of understanding between the ISPCA and the NPWS. Patrols and site visits are also ongoing. I appreciate this...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Heritage Council Expenditure (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: I thank Deputy O'Keeffe for raising this issue. My role as Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, in respect of the protection and management of our architectural heritage, is set out in the provisions of relevant legislation, as are the role of local authorities and the responsibilities of owners as regards heritage assets. The Irish Walled Towns Network was established by...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Heritage Council Expenditure (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: In 2017, the Heritage Council gave €140,200 in current funding and €282,000 in capital funding to the walled town network. I see no reason that should not continue. However, it is not a matter for me. It is a matter for the Heritage Council. This funding was in addition to supports, including training, for community groups. Obviously, my Department is having ongoing...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Other Questions: Architectural Heritage (23 Jan 2018)

Josepha Madigan: My role with regard to the protection and management of our architectural heritage is, as I stated earlier, set out in the provisions of relevant legislation, as are the role of local authorities and the responsibilities of owners as regards heritage assets. Financial support for the protection of architectural heritage is provided by my Department through a number of schemes. These...