Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his function in relation to supporting the arts at a local authority level either through a direct allocation from his Department's expenditure or through EU Cultural Programme funding; if, in view of the large reductions in general expenditure on the arts at local level in recent years he proposes any new vehicles to support the area; if he has had any consultation with the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government with regard to funding the arts at local level once proposed changes to local government are enacted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13118/13]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Government policy on the arts is set out in the Programme for Government. Government policy is to promote and strengthen the arts in all its forms, increase access to and participation in the arts, to make the arts an integral and valued part of our national life, and to maximise the potential for cultural tourism. Primary responsibility for the promotion of the arts at all levels throughout the country is devolved to the Arts Council, which, under the Arts Acts, is independent in its funding decisions. In 2013, the Arts Council will receive an allocation from my Department of some €60.7 million in current, capital and EU Presidency funding.

One key vehicle for delivering arts funding to the local authorities is the 28-year partnership the Arts Council has had with local authorities through annual direct funding of the national infrastructure of local arts services. Much of the work of local arts services offers people in remote and rural communities the opportunity to engage in the arts, both as audience members and as active participants in making and presenting work. The assortment of programmes offered by the Council nationwide reaches a particularly broad range of publics and communities. Another important and particularly relevant partnership, in this context, is the Arts Council's 14-year partnership with Údarás na Gaeltachta, through the mechanism of Ealaíon na Gaeltachta, which has focused on developing the arts in the Gaeltacht.

With regard to funding from the EU Culture Programme, the position is that neither Ireland, nor indeed my Department, receives an allocation from the EU Culture Programme but projects must apply directly to Brussels for this funding. There is a Cultural Contact Point in Ireland, funded by the EU Culture Programme, which assists arts and culture organisations wishing to apply for funding. Information in this regard is available at its website at A specific strand of this programme, entitled "Local Arts Europe", features 23 projects across many areas of arts practice, each of which is led by a Local Authority Arts office, or by Ealaíon na Gaeltachta, working in cooperation with artists, art organisations and community partners in their localities, as well as artistic partners based elsewhere in Europe.

I might refer the Deputy to the proceedings of the Joint Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht on 24 April 2012, where discussion took place on the topic of ‘Utilising the Arts to combat disadvantage among the young, the old and the socially disadvantaged and to encourage their greater integration and social inclusion within local communities’. These discussions can be accessed on the Oireachtas website at .