Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 37: To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the way he intends to maximise the potential of community arts projects as an important tool for social inclusion in areas of disadvantage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36579/11]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to inform the House that in the months since taking office I have engaged extensively with the arts community at local and national levels. Following dialogue with local arts officers, a pilot interactive strategy has been put in place which, I believe, will lead to more co-ordination in arts and culture activities at community and at local level. I believe that the next 5 years can be an exciting time for the arts, culture and film sectors. Their integration into a new Department with the Irish language, islands and heritage responsibilities, makes eminent sense and I look forward to building on the self-evident synergies between these areas.

The Government's priorities for the arts are set out in the Programme for Government, while responsibility for the promotion of the arts at all levels throughout the country is devolved primarily to the Arts Council, as the principal agency through which State funding is channelled to the arts. Under the Arts Act 2003, the general functions of the Council include the following:

- to stimulate public interest in the arts;

- to promote knowledge, appreciation and practice of the arts; and

- to assist in improving standards in the arts.

The Arts Council is a statutorily independent body, funded by my Department and independent in its day-to-day operations, including in relation to its funding decisions.