Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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694. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which she has been in a position in 2018 to date to respond to various applications from community groups towards their performances and productions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3470/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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In general, primary responsibility for the promotion and support of the arts at all levels is devolved to the Arts Council.  The Arts Council operates under the provisions of the Arts Act 2003, which provides, inter alia, that the Council is independent in the performance of its functions in funding the arts.  In Budget 2018, the Arts Council received and additional €3.2 million bringing the total Arts Council allocation of €68.2 million in 2018.

In addition, Pillar 2 of the Creative Ireland Programme - Enabling Creativity in every Community is a key element in encouraging creativity at local level.  In 2017, my Department allocated €1m to 31 local authorities to enable them to develop and implement their Culture and Creativity Action Plans which included an associated programme of events and initiatives in each county.  I plan to double this amount to €2m in 2018. A key principle underpinning the Creative Ireland Programme is community empowerment and therefore each local authority decided themselves what events/projects they wished to include in their respective plans.

The local authorities are currently preparing long-term Culture and Creativity Strategies which aim to ensure that people and communities across Ireland will have the opportunity to fully realise their creative potential. As part of this process, each culture team is consulting widely in relation to how it will implement and deliver the Creative Ireland Programme vision at local level. These Strategies will be accompanied by a separate Activity Programme for 2018 and for every subsequent year of the Strategy.  It is expected that both the Strategies and Activity Plans will be published during the Spring of 2018.