Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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449. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the assessment process used to judge the grant applications by Culture Ireland for the supporting Irish culture on the world stage scheme announced in July 2016; the scoring mechanism; the total number of applications versus those that were awarded a grant; of those awarded a grant, the number that were previously funded by Culture Ireland and the number that were funded for the first time; if an appeals mechanism exists for unsuccessful applicants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37094/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department’s Culture Ireland grant funding scheme is designed to support the presentation and promotion of Irish arts internationally. The scheme is currently operated on the basis of three grant rounds per year. Applications are considered in relation to all forms of the arts as defined in the Arts Act 2003. The following basic eligibility requirements apply:

1. Applicant must be in respect of an Irish (or based in Ireland) professional artist or arts organisation;

2. The application must relate to the international presentation of non-commercial work;

3. The work to be presented must be an art form defined under the Arts Act 2003; and

4. The event must be accessible to an open public audience.

All applications are initially examined by the staff of my Department with responsibility for operating the Culture Ireland Programme to determine whether they meet the above eligibility criteria. Applications which meet the eligibility requirements are then commented upon by independent external experts in various art forms, drawn from a panel established on the basis of a recommendation by the Culture Ireland Expert Advisory Group (EAC) in 2014. The panellists act as an aid to the EAC, which is comprised of arts interests and representatives of relevant State bodies (see www.cultureireland.ie/about for details of the membership). The panellists’ input ensures that there is specialist expertise in different art forms available as applications are being evaluated in line with the relevant criteria, which are set out as follows:

1. Artistic quality of work and track record of artist/company;

2. Profile of international venue/festival;

3. Financial and operational viability of the event (including artists' fees and level of support from presenter/venue/other partners);

4. Proven capacity of applicant to present work internationally; and

5. Wider promotional and media impact.

The Embassy network is also invited to give its views in relation to the local venue and promoter and whether there might be wider benefits for Ireland arising from a proposed event.

Taking account of Embassy and expert panel views, geographic priorities and strategic impact, recommendations on funding are submitted for consideration by the EAC, which in turn submits its recommendations for Ministerial approval.

In the 2016 summer round, 124 applications were received seeking funding in the amount of €1.4m. A total award of €626,000 was made to support 86 applicants, of which 45 had previously been awarded funding. The projects, which include artists and companies presenting circus, dance, film, literature, music, theatre and the visual arts, will enable Irish artists to showcase and export their work to over 28 different countries around the globe. Through this support, increasing numbers of worldwide audiences will experience the strength and diversity of Ireland's artistic excellence and Irish artists will develop relationships with their international counterparts and grow their career both at home and abroad.

A total of 169 eligible applications were received under the winter 2016 grant round, which is currently under consideration.

On average, Culture Ireland receives 450 applications annually, of which approximately 55% are successful. Unsuccessful applicants are provided with advice and feedback on their applications on request and officials are available to meet should an applicant wish to discuss an application. It is, of course, open to applicants who are unsuccessful to make subsequent applications under another grant round.