Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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236. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which her Department supports, or plans to offer support to, various community-based local community arts groups or associations, with particular reference to the recognition of many excellent productions by same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32685/15]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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238. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the degree to which her Department supports, or expects to support, various festivals of the arts in the context of traditional or contemporary music, local drama production and-or musical societies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32687/15]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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239. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which she expects the Arts Council to be in a position to meet its supportive requirements in full in the current year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32688/15]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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243. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which she and her Department continue to promote an appreciation of the arts and national heritage to young people, whether through schools or otherwise; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32692/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 236, 238, 239 and 243 together.

The Government's policy on the arts is to promote and strengthen the arts in all its forms, to increase access to and participation in the arts, and to make the arts an integral and valued part of our national life.

Primary responsibility for the promotion and support of the arts at all levels throughout the country is devolved to the Arts Council. The Council is funded by my Department and is statutorily independent in its day-to-day operations, and specifically in its funding decisions. In 2015, the Arts Council will receive an allocation of almost €59 million in funding, including an allocation of €2 million for its 2016 commemorations programme.

The Arts Council approach to supporting a range of arts forms is set out in its strategic overview documents, which are available on the Council's website at . These set out the key strategic principles that inform its funding decisions. Information on the Arts Council's funding schemes and funding decisions is available for each county and each year through its funding decisions database at .

The Arts Council offers support to over 250 organisations across the country, 150 festivals each year (many of them smaller festivals, which are vital to tourism and the local economies), 100 bursaries for individual artists, and travel and training awards to 150 individuals, as well as commissions and touring of shows. It also continues to support the work of the 34 local authority arts services. The Arts Council’s funded organisations contribute hugely to the cultural heritage of Ireland.

In January 2013, the Arts in Education Charter was launched as a joint initiative with the Minister for Education and Skills. The Charter places new responsibilities on Government Departments, agencies, cultural institutions and arts organisations to provide and promote arts-in-education among children and young people.

A High-Level Implementation Group, chaired by Professor John Coolahan, Professor Emeritus, NUI, Maynooth, was set up to oversee the implementation of the Arts in Education Charter. Progress is being made on a number of initiatives, including increasing the number of Artists in Residence in colleges of education and the launch in May of a website/portal as a key communications and information channel for both the education and arts sectors.

There is a range of ways in which my Department is supporting arts, cultural and heritage initiatives in conjunction with local groups and communities.

These include:

- The St. Patrick's Day celebrations;

- Culture Night;

- Heritage Week;

- Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann for the promotion of the Irish traditional arts;

- Web-based projects being developed by my Department to promote greater appreciation and understanding of Ireland's heritage for residents and visitors alike; and

- Funding by my Department to support the work of National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) in developing arts projects in second level schools.

A full list of capital and current payments made by my Department is available on the website at .