Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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697. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if funding will be made available to an organisation (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19433/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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In general, the Arts Council is the primary source of funding for the arts in Ireland. The Arts Council is statutorily independent in relation to the performance of its functions in funding of the arts. Full details of all its funding schemes are available on the Council's website at .

I was pleased to secure significant additional funding for the Arts Council in Budget 2017.This will see an increase of € 5million or 8%, in the Council's allocation. It will allow the Council to enhance supports to artists and arts organisations. The Arts Council’s Strategy Making Great Art Worksets out the Council’s plans to lead the development of the arts in the decade to 2025.  The Strategy prioritises the professional artist as well as public engagement and outlines a range of actions that will be taken to deliver on its vision.

My Department has been unable to locate the email referred to by the Deputy. The email could be resent to and my Department will consider it. If the application for funding to which the Deputy is referring is for a capital grant, I hope to announce 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. I recently announced details of more than €9 million in capital funding for 56 arts and culture centres across the country. This 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. 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.