Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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744. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the steps she is taking to implement pillar four of the Creative Ireland programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20094/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach and I launched the Creative Ireland Programme 2017 – 2022 in December 2016 as the Government Legacy Programme for Ireland 2016 and as the main implementation vehicle for the priorities identified in the draft policy document Culture 2025/Éire Ildánach , which sets out an overarching vision and framework for culture over the coming years. The Creative Ireland Programme is a cross-Government initiative to mainstream culture and creativity in the life of the nation and to promote individual, community and national wellbeing.

The objective of the fourth pillar of the Programme – Establishing Ireland as a centre of excellence in media production – is to elevate the creative industries including media, architecture, design, digital technology, fashion, food and crafts together on an all of government basis. The initial focus this year will be on Ireland's potential to be a global leader in film production TV drama, documentary, children's storytelling and screen animation.

In November last, I announced the commissioning of an economic analysis of our screen based creative industries to examine the economic impact and potential of the Irish film, TV and animation sector. Following an open tender process, Olsberg SPI Ltd in association with Nordicity, was selected to conduct the study. Later this month, a Media Production Workshop will be held to consult the key stakeholders in the sector. This will be followed by the publication of an industry-wide, long-term plan for Ireland as a global media hub later this year.