Written answers

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Easter Rising Commemorations

Photo of Sandra McLellanSandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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551. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the measures her Department has taken to pro-actively consult the public since the Government launched its 1916 commemorative programme; the number of formal submissions that have been received to date. [7090/15]

Photo of Sandra McLellanSandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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552. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of meetings she has undertaken directly since the Government launch of developing the State 1916 commemorative programme; and the stakeholders, external to her Department, who attend these meetings. [7091/15]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 551 and 552 together.

The objective of the Ireland 2016 initiative, which I am leading and which was formally launched on 12November 2014, is to develop, coordinate and deliver a programme to honour and remember those who fought or died in the 1916 Easter Rising. I, together with my Government colleagues, am committed to ensuring that the commemorations to mark the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising will be inclusive, appropriate and respectful.

A 2016 Project Office in my Department is currently engaged in an extensive consultation process across the Government, State agency and community sectors in order to progress the development of detailed plans for 2016. In order to facilitate engagement with local communities and people of all ages nationwide, I have met with the County and Cities Management Association (CCMA) and have requested each local authority Chief Executive Officer to lead the development of local-level plans for Ireland 2016 in their individual counties during 2015. Dedicated Ireland 2016 co-ordinators and steering groups are being put in place in each local authority to help to shape and drive the relevant county programmes. A series of public meetings will be undertaken in each county, at which members of the public can come together to hear about Ireland 2016, meet those involved in their community, and to explore and learn about how they can get involved. I have allocated funding of €1 million to local authorities in 2015 to support this overall process.

In addition, since the launch of the Ireland 2016 initiative, I have convened two meetings of the All-Party Oireachtas Group on Commemorations, of which I am Chair. The Expert Advisory Group on Commemorations, which is chaired by Dr Maurice Manning, has also met on one occasion since that date. The first meeting of the Cabinet Committee on the 1916 Commemorations, which is chaired by An Taoiseach, took place on 3February 2015.

Meetings have also taken place with the various key Departments, agencies, local authorities and other interested parties. My Department's 2016 Project Office is engaging with the National Cultural Institutions, the Arts Council, Culture Ireland and the Heritage Council to ensure that a comprehensive and diverse cultural programme is developed. Meetings and a dedicated workshop have also been held with a wide range of Irish language groups in order to develop an Irish language programme. My Department has been working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to develop an appropriate programme involving the Irish Diaspora and with the Department of Education and Skills to ensure the involvement of primary and post-primary schools and third level education.

My Department is also engaging actively with representatives of the various relatives groups and individual relatives to hear their views on the overall programme and to ensure that they will have a central role in a number of the key State events.

Over one hundred proposals have been received in the 2016 Project Office to date from members of the public and interested parties - via email, postal submissions and through the project website, - and I very much appreciate and welcome all ideas and submissions received. I look forward to continuing engagement with all stakeholders and members of the public as the Ireland 2016initiative develops.

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