Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1294. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department is or will receive funding from the EU Coronavirus response investment initiative; if her Department has applied to receive additional funding from this initiative to protect the arts and entertainment sector while shut down during and beyond the phased reopening; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9453/20]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The EU Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII) is comprised of two regulations, Regulation 2020/460 (CRII), and Regulation 2020/558 (CRII Plus) which entered into force on 1 April and 23 April 2020 respectively.  The CRII regulations allow Members States to use unspent pre-allocated cohesion support, amounting to €8 billion, to respond to COVID-19 by supporting healthcare systems and the working capital of SMEs to remain in business to cushion the impact of the shock, matched by a further €29 billion in co-financing from the EU budget.

In practice, CRII allows Member States to use funding under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) strand of cohesion support, which ordinarily finances investment into the regions, to assist in the COVID-19 emergency response. There are two regional ERDF Operational Programmes in Ireland, implemented by two Managing Authorities. It is a matter for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, in consultation with the Managing Authorities, to reorient funding to areas of most need currently, in line with the provisions of CRII.

The Creative Europe Programme is the main financial instrument at EU level to support the cultural and creative sector. At two recent meetings of the EU Council of Culture Ministers to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the actions to be taken to mitigate its effects, I, along with a number of my counterparts, called for an increase in funding to the next Creative Europe Programme as well as additional and immediate direct support to the sector as part of the EU Recovery Plan to help it through this crisis and to rebound in its aftermath.

While discussions on the next EU budget are ongoing, several measures have been introduced with immediate effect in the Creative Europe Programme to protect the cultural and audiovisual sector while shut down, including; a new call for projects for the cross-border mainly digital distribution of performing arts works; €5m in vouchers for hardest-hit cinemas; maximum flexibility for existing projects to reach completion; accelerated selection procedure for many schemes so that artists can start work under pre-funding arrangements; facility to invoke force majeure to recover sunk costs for stalled productions and works; and, maximum flexibility on the repayment of loans.

Finally, on Wednesday last week the European Commission published the EU Recovery Plan. The Plan includes a new initiative, REACT-EU, with a budget of €55 billion. It is proposed that the funds will support workers and SMEs and will be available across sectors, including culture. While the Plan is now subject to negotiation and approval by the Council and European Parliament, I am confident that measures in the Plan, together with those under the Creative Europe Programme, and the whole suite of measures that have been introduced by the Government are helping to protect the cultural, creative and audiovisual sectors during shutdown and as we emerge from public health restrictions.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1295. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the supports which are being or will be made available through the Creative Europe programme for the island of Ireland; the funding or State mechanism that funding and support will be disseminated through; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9454/20]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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Creative Europe is the EU’s framework programme to support the cultural and audiovisual sectors. The current programme runs from 2014 to 2020 with an overall budget of €1.46 billion (funding to MEDIA 54%; Culture 31%; Cross-sectoral 31%). Support to the culture sector includes funding for projects across all genres, such as literature, dance, theatre, music and the visual arts. It also includes support for the European Capitals of Culture programme of which Galway is a current beneficiary. The €1.5m Melina Mercouri Prize was paid to Galway 2020 in February this year under Creative Europe.

Support to the audiovisual sector includes funding for projects at all stages of the production process, including slate, development, production and post-production, sales and distribution. Notable films that recently obtained support, and in which Ireland was one of the partner countries, were Oscar winning The Favourite, and recent releases Sea Fever and Vivarium.

The Programme is run by MEDIA and Culture Desks in each participating country, the operation of which is funded under the cross-sectoral strand of the Programme.

Funding for projects under Creative Europe is made available on a competitive basis across the EU Member States as well as additional non-EU participating countries under periodic calls and all applications are assessed by the European Audiovisual and Cultural Executive Agency (EACEA), which also contracts directly with and disseminates the funding for successful projects.

The Creative Europe Desk Northern Ireland operates and reports as part of UK participation in Creative Europe therefore all figures quoted hereunder for supports under the Creative Europe Programme refer to the Republic only.

Under the current Creative Europe MEDIA Programme, Irish companies have received awards totalling €10,988,757, as follows:

- Development – Single Project Funding:  €1,980,000

- Development - Slate Funding: €4,590,873

- Development - Video Games: €924,356

- TV programming (TV Production): €1,355,495

- Audience Development: €59,971

- Training: €1,227,975

- Access to Markets: €336,750

- Film Festivals: €110,000

- Distribution: €208,818

- Promotion of European Works online: €194,520

At present, Ireland is awaiting results for up to 30 applications for a range of MEDIA Schemes including Development Single Project and Slate, TV Programming, Market Access and Festivals.

The majority of funding under the Creative Europe Culture Programme is allocated to cooperation projects among two or more countries across the schemes operated.  Under the current Programme, 66 Irish organisations have been involved in funded projects with total direct grant funding to Ireland of €4,733,008 million, as follows:

- Support for European Cooperation Projects – 58 Irish organisations involved in funded projects  across the genres of the cultural sector, partnering with organisations in 34 (from a total of 41 participating) countries: €4,075,810

- Support for European Platforms - 7 Irish organisations involved in 7 Platform projects: €320,00

- Support for Literary Translations – 3 direct grants to an Irish Publisher (2 annual and 1 multi-annual): €337,198

At present, Ireland is awaiting results on 27 applications under the Support for European Cooperation Projects Scheme 2020 where an organisation from Ireland is either a lead or partner in the application.

The Creative Europe Culture Desk is also working with 5 Irish arts organisations in making applications under the Cooperation Projects with the Western Balkans 2020, as well as on a call to promote the arts and culture sector under the EU4Dialogue Programme.