Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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431. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which she and her Department continue to encourage internationally the use of Ireland as a film location with obvious beneficial economic implications; if difficulties have been encountered in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4591/17]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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433. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which the arts and heritage sectors continue to generate employment throughout the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4593/17]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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441. 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 enhance the promotion and development of an awareness of the arts and culture with a view to maximising economic benefit in the future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4601/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 431, 433 and 441 together.

My Department will continue to promote economic development of Ireland across its full remit, including for example, under the recently published Action Plan for Rural Ireland and Creative Ireland Programme.

In particular the Creative Ireland Programme is a five-year all-of-government initiative, from 2017 to 2022, which places creativity at the centre of public policyand aims to improve access to cultural and creative activity in every county across the country.

Under Pillar 2 of the Programme - Enabling Culture and Creativity in Every Community - each local authority will be asked to develop a Culture and Creativity Plan, reflecting the overall structure and aims of the national strategy for culture and creativity. Each local authority will establish a Culture Team bringing together arts offices, libraries, heritage offices and archives, along with other relevant functions – thus maximising synergies and cooperation.

The overarching, long-term objective of Pillar 4 - Ireland: A Centre of Excellence in Media Production- is to elevate the creative industries (including media, architecture, design, digital technology, fashion, food and crafts) drawing together, on an all-of-government basis, State agencies, industry partners and those engaged in fostering innovation in enterprise.As an initial project, the key focus will be on Ireland’s potential to be a global leader in film production, TV drama, documentary, children’s storytelling, and animation for the screen.

In this regard , my Departmenthas commissioned an economic analysis of our screen based creative industries , in partnership with the Departments of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation . This study will examine the economic impact including employment and the potential of the Irish film, TV and animation sector. The commissioning of the study is a commitment to in the Action Plan for Jobs 2016 and its recommendations will inform the development of policy in this area under the Creative Ireland Programme.

The Irish Film Board continues to support the Irish screen industries at major international markets and festivals, promotes inward investment, promotes the use of Ireland as a location for international production and provides support for companies filming in Ireland. The Board liaises with IDA Ireland and Tourism Ireland to maximise joint opportunities for promotion of Ireland as a location for film productions.