Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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652. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which she continues to encourage the promotion and development of the arts, with particular reference to the maximisation of employment opportunities arising therein, especially in regard to counties Sligo and Leitrim; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13098/17]

Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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655. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which she continues to provide funding for the arts at local and community levels within counties Sligo and Leitrim, directly or indirectly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13101/17]

Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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657. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which her support for the arts sector continues to result in continued activity and employment, especially in regard to counties Sligo and Leitrim; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13103/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 652, 655 and 657 together.

Funding for the arts at all levels is primarily a matter for the Arts Council. I secured significant additional funding for the Arts Council in Budget 2017. 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).

The Taoiseach and I launched the Creative Ireland Programme – Clár Éire Ildánach 2017 – 2022 on the 8 December 2016. Funding of €5m for the implementation of the programme was provided in Budget 2017.

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 Creative Ireland Programme is the main implementation vehicle for the priorities identified in Culture 2025/Éire Ildánach, the draft cultural policy which I published last year and which sees a vibrant cultural ecosystem as essential to society. 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

Under the 2nd Pillar Enabling creativity in every community - each local authority is being 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 has now established a Culture Team bringing together arts officers, librarians, heritage officers, museum curators, archivists and other relevant personnel led by a Director of Services, with a nominated person as 'Creative Ireland Co-ordinator'.

‘Cruinniú na Cásca’, an annual programme of arts activities and cultural reflection to be held on Easter Monday, will be developed – across the island, locally, with our Diaspora, curated by the national broadcaster and delivered primarily by the local authorities. Beginning in 2018, there will also be an annual County of Culture award. The Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government will be a key partner in this pillar.

I also recently announced details of more than €9 million in capital funding for existing dedicated arts and culture centres across the country. The Arts and Culture Capital Scheme is the most significant investment in arts and cultural centres in a decade and will target investment at a range of different facilities, including arts centres, theatres, galleries and museums, as well as artists’ studios and creative spaces. Under the scheme the Hawk's Well Theatre, Sligo was awarded funding of €550,000. The Dock, in partnership with Leitrim County Council, was awarded funding of over €178,000 and North Leitrim Glens were awarded €50,000.

A full list of organisations to benefit from funding under Stream 1 and 2 of the Arts and Cultural Capital Scheme 2016-2018 is available on my Department's website.

Furthermore, I will be announcing a new small capital grants Scheme in the coming weeks which will be geared towards providing grants of up to €20,000 to not-for-profit organisations with a defined arts and cultural remit.

In addition to the increase in funding for the Arts Council, and for the Creative Ireland Programme, Budget 2017 also includes an additional €1 mill ion to the Heritage Council. I also secured an increase of €2 million for the Irish Film Board, representing a 14% increase in its annual budget. My Department has 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.

These kinds of investment are at the centre of what I am trying to achieve through Creative Ireland Programme and the Action Plan for Rural Development.

The Action Plan for Rural Development, which I launched with the Taoiseach in January, is the first whole-of-government strategy aimed at people living and working in rural Ireland. It aims to unlock the potential of rural Ireland through a framework of supports at national and local level which will ensure that people who live in rural areas have increased opportunities for employment locally, and access to public services and social networks that support a high quality of life.

The Action Plan is an overarching structure for the co-ordination and implementation of initiatives right across Government which will benefit rural Ireland. It takes a cohesive and coordinated approach across the whole of Government to the implementation of both economic and social policies that impact on rural communities.

The Plan contains 276 actions which aim to improve both the economic and social fabric of rural Ireland spread across five pillars. Arts and Heritage are covered under the fourth pillar of the plan - Fostering Culture and Creativity in Rural Communities. The key objectives of this Pillar are to:

- Increase access to the arts and enhance cultural facilities in rural communities.

- Further develop and enhance culture and creativity in rural Ireland through the establishment of culture teams and creativity hubs as part of the Creative Ireland Programme.

- Promote the Irish language as a key resource in Gaeltacht and other rural communities.

These policy initiatives are supported by significant additional resources which are being directed towards the arts and culture sector.

All of this represents real and substantial funding increases across the arts and cultural area and has been welcomed across the sector. It reaffirms the commitment of this Government to progressively increase funding for the arts as the economy improves, as set out in the Programme for a Partnership Government and to ensure that all areas of the country benefit from the increased investment.