Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be making a statement on the future of the Creative Ireland programme on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, who is currently in Cabinet. Many of the questions the Senator has asked are given a comprehensive response. In December 2016, a new all-of-government initiative, entitled clár Éire IIdánach or the Creative Ireland programme, was approved as a legacy project arising from the Ireland 2016 centenary programme and as the main implementation vehicle for national cultural policy priorities.

More recently, the Government agreed that significant progress had been made to date to support each citizen in realising his or her creative potential and to mainstream creativity into public policy across Departments through the implementation of the Creative Ireland Programme 2017 to 2022. It was recognised, however, that there was a requirement to provide an early indication of the preferred direction of travel concerning the future of the programme after 2022, to which the Senator alluded. Departments and public bodies, including local authorities and stakeholders, in particular the community and voluntary sectors, would require a lead-in period to prepare key strands of the new phase of the programme.

Since detailed work to develop a new five-year programme would also, among other things, require extensive consultations, including with the public, a two-step process to secure Government agreement is being pursued. This process consists of an initial in-principle approval for a further five-year framework for the Creative Ireland Programme 2023 to 2027 to enable the necessary programme detail to be developed in collaboration with other Departments, public bodies and key stakeholders and a final more detailed version of the programme, to be brought back to Government for its agreement in autumn 2022 prior to its publication, launch and implementation on an all-of-government basis.

In February 2022, the Government provided the initial in-principle approval.In so doing the Government reaffirmed the vision of the Creative Ireland programme to mainstream creativity in the life of the nation so that individually and collectively, in our personal lives and in our institutions, we can realise our full creative potential thereby promoting individual, community and national well-being to which we all aspire. The programme identified issues of access as it sought to reach new audiences, in particular those not currently engaging. It will therefore continue to collaborate and communicate with as broad a network as possible as it seeks to empower communities nationwide through its values of collaboration and communication, community empowerment and internationalisation. There is undoubtedly a recognition that significant scope remains for continuing implementation regarding children and young people through Creative Youth. The publication of the Creative Youth plan in 2017 provided a vision for which there has been substantial success and delivery across the primary areas centred on educational settings, community engagement and the development of a professional education and arts supporting ecosystem.

Cruinniú na nÓg, the national day of free creativity for children, is now in its fifth year and has become firmly embedded in the national calendar. The 31 local authorities are crucial to its delivery and the programme officials continue to refine an approach of key strategic partnerships with community and voluntary organisations of national reach that can complement and further enable the efforts of local authorities. As an aside I should mention that Cruinniú na nÓg takes place this year on 11 June.

While advances have been made regarding the audiovisual action plan significant benefits are anticipated from a focus on creative industries more broadly. To that end discussions are again under way among officials regarding the preparation of a roadmap for the creative industries. I will come back with more in the next contribution. I thank the Senator.