Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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390. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the level of expenditure that will need to be achieved in budget 2025 to deliver upon the commitment that such expenditure will be doubled relative to outrun in 2017. [52517/19]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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As Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, I greatly welcome the commitment to increase Government spending in the arts and culture sector on a trajectory that will see funding doubled by 2025.  My Department and I continue to work rigorously with an Taoiseach and all of my Government colleagues towards delivering on this commitment.

In general, funding allocations fall to be determined annually as part of the Estimates process.  The Budget 2020 allocation for my Department of €354.3 million represents a cumulative increase of 23% on the comparable 2017 REV allocation of €288.408 million.

Current funding for 2020 as per the Budget Estimates will exceed €273 million.  This represents an increase of 15% on 2017 current funding.

Capital funding for 2020 will be €81 million representing an increase of 59% compared to 2017.  The commitment by Government as part of Project Ireland 2040 to invest €1.2 billion in our culture, our language and our heritage over the 10-year implementation of the NDP will allow for further significant increases in the capital allocation for my Department over the coming years.

Details of the total expenditure (current and capital) incurred by my Department in 2017 are available in the Annual Appropriation Account for my Department which is published on the website of the Comptroller and Auditor General at:

www.audit.gov.ie/en/Find-Report/Publications/Appropriation%20Accounts/.

The 2017 total outturn figure as per that account is €294.138m but that figure includes expenditure of €13.548m in respect of capital monies carried over for specific projects from 2016.  In real terms, the total expenditure from the 2017 REV allocation of €288.408m for my Department was €284.438m.