Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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49. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of progress in respect of Galway 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45443/19]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I was delighted to officiate at the launch of the Galway 2020 cultural programme on 18 September last. It was wonderful to see Eyre Square come to life with the large crowd in attendance and the breath-taking performance by composer and musician Anna Mullarkey and the French aerialists Gratte Ciella.

As the Deputy is aware, the cultural programme that was launched that evening is arranged according to the old Celtic calendar with over 1900 events spread over the course of the year, starting with the opening ceremony in the first week of February, which will travel over six days from towns across the county to culminate in the city on 8 February.

Following the recent third and final review by the EU Expert Monitoring Panel, Galway 2020 was also recommended for the prestigious Melina Mercouri Prize of €1.5 million. The EU Commission will make an announcement on the award of the Prize early next year.

Under the terms of the Performance Delivery Agreement between my Department and Galway 2020, a quarterly financial and management report is received in advance of a formal monitoring meeting between the Department and senior management in Galway 2020. All aspects of Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture are discussed at both the monitoring meetings and in regular communication that takes place between my Department and Galway 2020.

At the most recent meeting in September, my Department was advised that the cultural projects are proceeding according to target; the major sponsorship drive is continuing with over the 500 companies contacted and over 130 meetings held; the monitoring and evaluation programme is in place; the volunteer programme is gathering pace; and a sub-committee of the Board has been convened to address the legacy of Galway 2020.

As we are now a little over 100 days out from the Opening Ceremony for Galway 2020, I am looking forward to a truly memorable, once in a lifetime year for all concerned.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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50. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht further to Parliamentary Question No. 62 of 16 January 2019, the breakdown of sponsorship raised by Galway 2020 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45408/19]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Galway 2020 commenced the rollout of a largescale fundraising drive earlier this year with leading cultural production company, Artichoke, working with Galway 2020 to secure fundraising and sponsorship income in support of the European Capital of Culture project. Since their appointment, contact has been made with over 500 companies and over 130 meetings have been held. Recent additional appointments have been made to the fundraising team to further support the fundraising drive.

To date, over €1.7m has been secured in sponsorship. This includes both cash and in-kind support.

Notable amongst these was the announcement on 31 July last that Galway 2020 had entered into a significant corporate partnership with Medtronic. The partnership sees Medtronic become the official Health Partner of Galway 2020 and sponsor of the Wave Maker volunteer programme and the Wave Maker Health Hub, the first of its kind for a European Capital of Culture.

In addition to this, the current value of the fundraising and partnerships pipeline is €3.2m – this includes a combination of commercial as well as trusts and foundations, comprising funds proposals submitted and further partnerships that are under consideration.

Galway 2020’s fundraising team continues to engage with local, national and international businesses very positively and effectively, following up on pledges of support made as well as contacting new businesses, to determine their interest and capacity to support. As is normal for projects of this scale, it is envisaged that the fundraising drive will continue into and during 2020, with funding realised throughout the entire duration of the project.

The process to negotiate and agree packages with fundraising partners continues to take time to finalise for each individual business, however the overall feedback from partners is positive and there is great interest from the business community in getting involved. A series of cultivation and stewardship events have been held in Galway and these will continue to be organised in support of the Galway 2020 project in the coming months.