Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1292. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the funding for grants Culture Ireland had available for 2020 before the Covid-19 emergency generally and for music-specific applications; if that same funding for grants will be made available during and post the Covid-19 emergency to artists, acts, touring groups and so on in the absence of international touring and performing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9451/20]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Culture Ireland’s budget for 2020 is €4.6m and this funding is allocated through three  grant rounds per year and for the delivery of key international showcases to secure new touring opportunities for artists. While grant funding is awarded on the basis of quality of work with reference to strategically important territories rather than on art form basis, there is a significant number of music grants given the strength of the Irish music sector and global interest in Irish music.

At the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, I approved the launch by Culture Ireland of the Ireland Performs initiative,  a new scheme to present artists online, enabling them to reach a global audience and supporting them with payment of €1,000 per performance.   Priority was given to artists who had suffered the cancellation of live performances and touring contracts abroad.

Ireland Performs  proved to be a great success with almost 500 applications received for the 120 performance slots over a 6 week period. To date the performances have attracted an audience of just over 800,000 with a wide global reach including Asia, the US, Australia and Europe.

Artists from 28 counties participated and an enduring legacy of the programme is the technical expertise gained by the artists which will allow them to present their work on social media platforms in the future and provide access to worldwide audiences and new earning potential.

With all national and most international showcases now cancelled for the foreseeable future, Culture Ireland is working across all artforms to develop new ways of presenting Irish arts and artists to a global audience over the coming months in order to maintain existing connections and develop future opportunities for Irish artists.

Culture Ireland is working with bodies such as Literature Ireland, First Music Contact, Irish Film Institute International and our Cultural Centres in New York, London and Paris and the Network of Irish Cultural Centres across North America to ensure that Irish artists and organisations are supported to present their work globally and the existing budget is utilised to best advantage of Irish artists to reach audiences worldwide.