Gabrielle McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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31. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the measures she is taking to ensure that the commemorations for 2016 are not Dublin centric; her plans to involve the other regions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39554/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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One of the core objectives of the Ireland 2016initiative is to encourage and facilitate participation by, and the inclusion of, the citizens of Ireland to the greatest extent possible in the programme of events to commemorate this significant centenary. The Community Participationstrand of the programme is being led by local authorities across the country and I have been working closely with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Alan Kelly, T.D., in this regard. Each local authority has appointed a steering committee and a dedicated ‘Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme’ co-ordinator, to support engagement and facilitation within local communities to generate awareness of the national programme; and to develop and deliver a plan for a suitable programme of events and initiatives to take place at a county level in line with the national plans for Ireland 2016. A series of public meetings in each county has taken place, at which members of the public came together to hear about Ireland 2016, meet those involved in their community, and to explore and learn about how they can get involved. Arising from this, I, together with An Taoiseach and my colleagues in Government, launched 31 local authority plans on 8 October.

An extensive programme of formal State ceremonial events will take place around the country, focused on remembering and honouring those who took part in the Easter Rising and those who lost their lives. Significant regional events are planned in Ashbourne, Athenry, Enniscorthy, Cork, and Kerry to reflect the very special importance attached to these locations during the events of 1916. Further details in relation to the arrangements for these, and all of the State ceremonial events, will be published on the website, in the coming months.