Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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416. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she has had any engagement with stakeholders in the music industry in terms of the establishment of a music industry task force, with wide representation and which would examine a range of issues including the impact of intellectual property and copyright legislation and enforcement in both the music and technology industries, supports for the business of music education and a dedicated office similar to the Irish Film Board for the music sector. [19822/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Under the Arts Act 2003, primary responsibility for the promotion of the arts at all levels throughout the country is devolved to the Arts Council. The Arts Council is the main channel of State current expenditure on the arts and will receive over €60 million in 2016.

The Arts Council's strategy statement, Making Great Art Work,sets out the Council’s plans to lead the development of the arts in the decade to 2025 and prioritises two policy areas, the artist and public engagement.

The IMRO report, entitled The Socio-Economic Contribution of Music to the Irish Economy,highlights the impressive contribution the music industry makes to the Irish economy. The report contains a broad range of recommendations for which several Ministers have responsibility. In this context, the issues of supporting musicians and artists was raised in the discussion during the public consultation phases held as part of developing the proposed new national cultural policyCulture 2025.The commitment to deliver Ireland's first such policy offers an opportunity to consider how arts and culture can be embedded right across Government.

Copyright law is a matter for the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.