Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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20. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which he continues to have discussions with stakeholders in the arts and heritage sectors with a view to the maximisation of the sectors’ ability to continue to impact favourably on the economy with particular reference to the need to capitalise on previous years’ efforts such as The Gathering as a means of promoting Irish arts and heritage at home and abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51460/13]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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The Gathering initiative, undertaken by my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, has the strong support of my Department and the agencies under my Department's remit. A range of actions that have been taken to support The Gathering were outlined in my previous replies to the Deputy.

My Department and its agencies have made a substantial contribution towards ensuring a strong linkage between the cultural area and tourism and, in so doing, to The Gathering. This promotes and enhances the artistic image of Ireland. Indeed, the arts are very much part of our tourism offering. For example, over 1 million tourists visit the National Museum annually, free of charge. The number of people coming to Ireland for the cultural encounter is increasing all the time.

My Department's Culture Ireland Programme supports artists to travel abroad and promote this country. Efforts are continuing to maximise the benefits from that funding and, in this regard, I have arranged that other State agencies, such as the IDA and Tourism Ireland, will be enabled to capitalise on the presence of some of our best artists when travelling abroad so as to further promote the country.

Throughout 2013, my Department has worked to encourage linkages between arts and culture and The Gathering initiative and these efforts will continue into the future.