Written answers

Thursday, 6 March 2014

Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Arts Funding

Photo of Kevin HumphreysKevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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141. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in relation to subhead A7 capital allocations 2013 of his Department's Revised Estimates, and in particular in relation to the access II scheme, the date on which the scheme commenced; the date on which the first grant was given; the number of, the name of and the amounts awarded under the scheme in 2012; if the scheme is still open, the names of the persons on the independent selection committee and if others not on the committee now have served previously; if records are available of the meetings of the selection committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11229/14]

Photo of Kevin HumphreysKevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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142. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in relation to grants awarded in 2012 under subheads A6 and A7 of his Department's Vote for which he is stated to be the decision maker, the administrative process that supports his decision making; if he will confirm that as the decision maker he has personally read and assessed the applications himself; the type and nature of records held by his Department involved in or related to this decision making process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11230/14]

Photo of Kevin HumphreysKevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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143. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in relation to subhead A7 capital allocations 2012 and in particular in relation to small capital grants, the date on which the application process was commenced; the date on which the first grant was given; the number of, the name of and the amounts awarded under the grant in 2012; if the application process is still open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11231/14]

Photo of Kevin HumphreysKevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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144. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in relation to the philanthropy scheme operated under subhead A7 of his Departments Vote, the date on which the application process was commenced; the date on which the first grant was given; the number of, the name of and the amounts awarded under the scheme in 2012; if the scheme is still open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11232/14]

Photo of Jimmy DeenihanJimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos 141 to 144, inclusive, together.

Capital grants for arts projects paid in 2012 and previous years under the A7 Cultural Infrastructure and Development subhead of my Department's Vote are published on my Department's website at This funding covered payments under a number of different schemes.

The majority of the payments listed were capital grants payments under ACCESS II (Arts and Culture Capital Enhancement Support Scheme II) in the 2006-2008 period and apply to major capital projects. Applications were made in 2006 following advertisements in the national media. The decision-making process occurred mainly in 2006 and was lead by an independent assessment committee under the chairmanship of Mr John Fitzgerald, former Dublin City Council Manager. The selection committee also included senior representatives of the Office of Public Works, the Arts Council and the then Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism. Grants were allocated in 2007 and again in 2008 based on the recommendations made by this committee. Capital projects usually involve multi-year drawdowns.

When availability of funds allow, smaller capital grants may also be made available. Details of the application process for this type of funding, along with the requirements and criteria for drawdown of these grants, is published on my Department's website at

On 15 May 2012, I announced details of the Philanthropy Scheme and the application process was opened on that date. Full details of all awards made under the initiative in 2012 and 2013 are available on my Department’s website at the link above

Applications, under current schemes are assessed by the professional staff of my Department against the published criteria and project proposals are submitted to me for final decision. It is standard practice that records are kept in my Department of all grant assessment processes.

Photo of Kevin HumphreysKevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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145. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in relation to all grants awarded in 2012 under subheads A6 of his Department's Vote for which he is stated to be the decision maker, if grants awarded under the scheme are funded by current or capital expenditure; the administrative process that supports his decision making; if he will confirm that as the decision maker he has personally read and assessed the applications himself; the type and nature of records held by his Department involved in or related to this decision making process; the individual amounts assigned to organisations, institutions and projects under the scheme; if there is a multi-year commitment to funding said organisations, institutions and projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11233/14]

Photo of Kevin HumphreysKevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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146. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in relation to subhead A6 capital allocations 2012 and in particular in relation to cultural night funding, the date on which the application process commenced; the administrative process that supports his decision making; if he will confirm that as the decision maker he has personally read and assessed the applications himself; the type and nature of records held by his Department involved in or related to this decision making process; the individual amounts assigned to organisations, institutions and projects under the scheme; if the scheme is still open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11234/14]

Photo of Kevin HumphreysKevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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147. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in relation to subhead A6 capital allocations 2013 and in particular in relation to the scheme to assist local and regional museums, the date on which the application process commenced; the administrative process that supports his decision making; if he will confirm that as the decision maker he has personally read and assessed the applications himself; the type and nature of records held by his Department involved in or related to this decision making process; the individual amounts assigned to institutions under the scheme; if the scheme is still open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11235/14]

Photo of Jimmy DeenihanJimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 145 to 147, inclusive, together.

Organisations funded under the A.6 subhead meet a specific cultural need and support the high-level goal of my Department in relation to enhancing access to the arts, culture and film sectors and recognising the social and economic role of these sectors in Ireland. The organisations in question make an important contribution to the development and promotion of Ireland's cultural tourism offering, to the benefit of both the domestic and foreign tourist, and represent an important component of the delivery of the cultural tourism commitments in the Programme for Government. Grants awarded under this subhead are for current funding.

The application and evaluation process in relation to projects funded under subhead A.6 is determined by the specific objectives of the projects themselves vis-à-vis Government arts and culture policy. For example, my Department is committed under the A.6 subhead to providing annual funding to certain cultural institutions that hold collections of moveable cultural heritage of national importance, or collections that are unique in the country. Institutions such as Archbishop Marsh's Library, the James Joyce Centre, the Hunt Museum and Foynes Flying Boat Museum receive an annual allocation of funding accordingly. Funding from the A6 subhead for the institutions and schemes is approved by me, as Minister.

Details of the funding allocations under subhead A6 in both 2012 and 2013 are available on my Department's website at

In terms of Culture Night 2012, all allocations for funding relate to current expenditure only. The closing date for receipt of applications was March 23rd and 24 applications were received by that date. All applications underwent an assessment and evaluation process carried out within my Department in accordance with the terms of the Scheme, which are available on my Department's website at . Decisions on the final awards were made by me, as Minister, in line with the published scheme criteria. The Scheme for Culture Night 2013 was dealt with in like manner with a closing date of April 10th 2013. The Culture Night Scheme for 2014 will shortly be announced.

In terms of the Local and Regional Museums Scheme 2013, all allocations of funding related to current expenditure only. The closing date for receipt of applications was March 28th and 37 applications were received by this date. All applications underwent an assessment and evaluation process carried out within my Department in accordance with the terms of the Scheme, which are available on my Department's website at . Decisions on the final awards were made by me, as Minister, in line with the published scheme criteria.

Details of successful applicants and funding allocations were made available via press release on May 23rd 2013. The closing date for receipt of applications under the 2014 Local and Regional Museums Scheme is the 31st March 2014. Full details of the Scheme are available on my Department's website In addition to the details available on my Department's website, relevant groups and/or associations are advised of the availability of funding each year, e.g., the Irish Museums' Association, the Local Authority Museums' Network, the Local Arts Officers Network, etc. as the case may be.

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