Written answers

Thursday, 29 September 2016

Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Arts Funding

Photo of Fergus O'DowdFergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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184. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will assess the budget submission from Nexus Arts (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27846/16]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department has received this submission and it is being considered. In this regard, it should be noted that the Programme for a Partnership Government contains a very important commitment to work progressively to increase funding to the arts, including funding to the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board, as the economy improves.

I assure the Deputy that I am engaging with my colleagues in Government and with the Oireachtas to seek to advance this commitment in the context of the forthcoming Estimates and budgetary processes.

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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185. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the full cost of the arts budget in 2016; and the cost of increasing arts funding to 0.6% of GDP. [28031/16]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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More than €188 million is being provided in 2016 for the arts, culture and film sector, an increase of 20% on the figure for 2015. In addition, a further €6.158 million is provided for 2016 by way of a capital carry-over.

A key driver of the increase in funding for the arts and in cultural expenditure in my Department in 2016 is the ongoing Commemorations Programme. The allocation in 2016 is almost €49 million, including €31 million in capital and €18 million in current expenditure.

The capital allocation of almost €31 million for commemorations, supplemented by €6.158 million in carryover from 2015, has provided for a number of flagship projects or permanent reminders that are being progressed this year.

Funding for 2016 has also supported projects which form part of the Ireland 2016 commemorative programme. In addition, the major refurbishment of the National Gallery of Ireland continues in 2016 as well as an investment of more than €39 million this year in our national cultural institutions.

The important and valuable work of the Arts Council has also been recognised. This is reflected in the 2016 current allocation of more than €60 million, which is an increase of €1.2 million over the 2015 allocation. Funding of €5.5 million is provided in 2016 for Culture Ireland, which includes €3 million for "I am Ireland", or "Mise Éire", the Culture Ireland international programme that forms part of the Ireland 2016 centenary programme.

The Programme for a Partnership Government contains a very important commitment to work to progressively increase funding to the arts, including the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board, as the economy continues to improve. I assure the Deputy that I am engaging with my colleagues in Government and with the Oireachtas to seek to advance this commitment in the context of the forthcoming Estimates and budgetary processes.

I understand that the Deputy's reference to a figure of 0.6% of GDP is an extrapolation from a Council of Europe research project called Compendium - Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe. Compendium collects figures on expenditure on culture in some European countries. I understand that many European countries including ten EU member states are not included in the figures. The data for the Compendium project are provided by independent researchers and it is not a standardised system for collection of statistics. Apparently the Compendium itself warns that data provided by the researchers are not comparable across countries because each researcher includes different elements in the definition of culture and these elements are reflected in the figures for public expenditure. For example, local authority expenditure on the arts, artists exemption tax relief, expenditure on public service broadcasting and the Irish language are all examples of elements not included in the Council of Europe figures for Ireland but included in the figures for some other countries.

Expenditure on the arts in Ireland comes from multiple sources, both public and private. I understand that the CSO does not produce national statistics that capture the totality of this expenditure as a percentage of GDP.

As I have previously stated, I consider that further research on this issue is warranted. The issue of a definition of culture and of capturing public expenditure on culture is an element of the draft Framework Policy Éire Ildánach/Culture 2025 which I forwarded to the Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in July.

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