Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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456. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will outline her plans to increase funding in the arts over the lifetime of the Government; and her views on whether funding for the Arts Council and Irish Film Board should be doubled. [37101/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for a Partnership Governmentcontains 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.

In Budget 2017, I secured significant additional funding for the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board. The increase in the Arts Council's allocation in 2017 is € 5 million, or 8%, and will assist the Council greatly in implementing its 10-year strategy Making Great Art Work(2016-2025).

In Budget 2017, I also securedan increase of €2 million for the Irish Film Board, representing a 14% increase in its annual budget. This increase in funding will allow the Board to invest more in Irish talent in the year ahead and follows on from a very successful year for the Irish film sector, particularly the indigenous film sector.