Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Government Policy on the Arts is set out in the Programme for Government and elaborated further in my Department's Statement of Strategy and my recently published Arts and Culture Plan, 2008. One of the stated objectives of this policy is to encourage and support the strategic development of the arts in local communities, both geographic and communities of interest, for the disadvantaged and for minority groups.

My policy on the arts is to promote and strengthen the arts in all its forms, increase access to and participation in the arts, and to make the arts an integral and valued part of our national life. Consequently, all funding allocated by my Department to the arts is aimed at, inter alia, addressing the issues of cultural participation, access and social inclusion. The Irish Sports Council (ISC), which is funded by my Department, is the statutory body responsible for encouraging the promotion, development and co-ordination of competitive sport and for increasing participation in recreational sport. The ISC's basic philosophy is, therefore, one of inclusion and its Statement of Strategy recognises the potential of sport to be a driver for social change dealing with issues such as exclusion and social inequality.

All sports organisations funded by the ISC, including National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs), are encouraged to target all sections of society in seeking to increase participation in sport. In addition, with the support and cooperation of my Department and Pobal, additional funding has been allocated to the ISC to support various grant schemes including the funding programme "Sports for Disadvantaged Youth". This programme, with funding amounting to almost €2 million, is administered by the ISC and delivered through the existing LSP structures and local authorities where an LSP is not in place. In addition, the ISC is also involved, directly and indirectly, in a number of successful initiatives that seek to encourage cultural inclusion. Typically, these programmes are funded through the National Programme Against Racism (NPAR) administered by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

With regard to the NGBs of sport, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has taken the lead with regard to cultural inclusion. In 2006, the FAI was the first NGB to appoint an Intercultural Programme Co-ordinator and, in 2007, launched its Intercultural Football Plan. In addition, in line with a commitment contained in An Agreed Programme for Government, the level of own funding required from applicants under the 2008 Sports Capital Programme in urban disadvantaged areas has been reduced from 20% to 10%. This covers applicants from RAPID and Local Drugs Task Force areas. It is the view of my Department that amending legislation governing the arts and sport is not the most appropriate way to promote social and cultural inclusion and there are no plans to amend legislation in this regard.