Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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428. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which she and her Department expect to be in a position to continue to utilise events of a cultural and heritage nature to promote the national image at home and abroad with particular reference to the need to generate increased interest in such matters among young persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4588/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department will continue to support a broad range of programmes and initiatives across its remit to promote Ireland’s national image, including under the recently published Creative Ireland Programmeand Action Plan for Rural Ireland. The Department’s Culture Irelandprogramme in particular will promote Irish culture on the world stage. The Ireland 2016 Centenary Programmelast year facilitated a heightened sense of shared identity and pride of country. Building on this, my Department has focused in recent months on the Reimaginephase of the Centenary Programme. This aims to create an enduring impact and long-term legacy of 2016, using the momentum and very positive public responses to the Rememberand Reflectphases of the Programme.

Following on from this the Government recently launched the Creative Ireland Programme – Clár Éire Ildánach2017 – 2022.

This is a cross-Government initiative to mainstream culture and creativity in the life of the nation and to promote individual, community and national wellbeing. This will focus on boosting cultural provision and participation in communities and harnessing the goodwill and engagement generated by the 2016 commemorative programme.

The core proposition of this programme is that participation in cultural activity drives personal and collective creativity, with significant implications for individual and societal wellbeing and achievement. The programme is based on five pillars:

- Enabling the creative potential of every child

- Enabling creativity in every community

- Investing in our creative and cultural infrastructure

- Establishing Ireland as a centre of excellence in media production

- Unifying our global reputation.

I am confident that this programme will be very beneficial in promoting the national image at home and abroad and in increasing interest in cultural and heritage matters amongst young persons.