Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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553. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the budgetary resources; and the number of staff, she has allocated to the commemorations unit within her Department for 2015 and 2016. [7092/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Last year, I established a 2016 Project Office in my Department, which has responsibility for co-ordinating and leading on all activities relating to the development and implementation of the Ireland 2016initiative, focused on the commemoration of the centenary of the events of the 1916 Easter Rising. The Director of Market Development at Fáilte Ireland has been seconded to my Department to assist with the development and delivery of the programme. Four officials from my Department and one additional staff member of Fáilte Ireland have been assigned to date to the 2016 Project Office to help drive this very significant initiative in collaboration and consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

My Department also has a separate Decade of Commemorations Unit, with 4 staff, which works with interested parties to co-ordinate and support other anniversary events as they arise along the historic timeline. Key events for the Unit in 2015 will be Gallipoli and the sinking of the Lusitania.

I have secured an allocation of €4 million in current funding to support the development in 2015 of the Ireland 2016initiative. This allocation will be used to engage with and support a wide range of activities and events by interested groups, including local community groups and the arts, as well as Irish language and educational projects. The allocation of €4 million is in addition to the capital provision of €22 million, which will be allocated in 2015 to a number of flagship commemorations projects.