Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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554. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of persons employed by the eight national cultural institutions under the labour activation schemes, on zero-hour contacts and unpaid internships; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38693/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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In respect of the Cultural Institutions under the remit of my Department, I am advised that no persons are engaged in either Labour Activation schemes or zero hour contracts.

Cultural Institutions operate both paid and unpaid internships. Paid internships are funded from a number of sources.

Regarding unpaid internships, the Cultural Institutes are regularly approached by students and recent graduates seeking internships, in what are specialised areas such as conservation. In many instances, these internships form part of the students course requirement. The internships tend to be short term in nature and are facilitated where possible.

The National Cultural Institutions are independent bodies under the aegis of the Department: it is a matter for these bodies if they are able to facilitate requests for short term internships from students and others interested in developing a career in the sector.

The approximate Full Time Equivalent (FTE) headcount for the eight National Cultural Institutions is 600 persons and the number of unpaid internships represents less than 2% of the total headcount.

Details are outlined in the table below regarding the number of unpaid internships currently being facilitated: