Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 15: To ask the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport the extent to which she has recognised the economic benefits and value of the arts and cultural activities in general as a means of economic revival and the need to ensure that such activities are encouraged and supported in the current climate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36685/10]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I am acutely aware of the potential, impact and importance of the culture sector, in its widest sense, as an economic driver. Culture represents an essential element of our identity, profile, confidence and place in the world. As I have stated before, on assuming this portfolio, my general policy on the arts, culture and the creative industries is to promote and strengthen them, and increase participation. I want to do this for the sake of culture itself and also for the purposes of strengthening those sectors for the economy as a whole.

In the year since the Farmleigh Global Forum took place, there has been a recognition of the central role that Ireland's artistic and cultural strengths play in building our reputation globally, and on the benefits that flow for Irish trade and investment. The arts, cultural and creative industries have welcomed and engaged very actively in this discussion, with a view to building on this renewed strategic priority and unlocking the full potential of the key connection between culture, creativity, competitiveness and Ireland's international reputation.

Many recent international studies have shown that the cultural and creative industries are highly innovative sectors of great potential and are, for instance, one of Europe's most dynamic sectors, contributing approximately 2.5 per cent to EU GDP, with a high growth potential and providing quality jobs to some 5 million people across the EU. Furthermore, arts, culture and audio-visual content play a crucial role in the deployment of the knowledge society, fuelling investments in broadband infrastructures and services, in digital technologies, as well as in new consumer electronics, communications devices, platforms and channels to market. They are undoubtedly catalysts of economic and social innovation in many other sectors, as well as differentiators of us as a people, a culture and a nation set apart. In Ireland these sectors are real and enduring employers rooted in communities, making a real economic, social and cultural contribution.