Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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93. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which her Department continues to liaise with the stakeholders in the sectors relative to her Department with a view to identifying the way in which she can intervene with assistance throughout the remainder of 2021 recognising the need for recovery and rejuvenation of the sectors under her aegis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11532/21]

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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99. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her plans and the provisions she has put in place for tourism, sport and culture to provide for and assist in the safe enjoyment of summer 2021 outdoors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21620/21]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 99 together.

The COVID-19 pandemic has utterly changed the operating landscape for the sectors my Department supports.  I recognise the ongoing impact the pandemic and associated public health measures continues to have on these sectors, on the people who work in them and on the communities that depend on them.

However, we should also recognise that these tough decisions have enabled all of us, through collective action, to protect the most vulnerable in our society, and with the ongoing rollout of the vaccination programme we find ourselves positioned at the beginning of a process where we can start to focus our efforts on economic and social recovery.

I have been actively working with and for the sectors within my remit to ensure that they are supported during the pandemic and have established a number of fora and taskforces to ensure that I have the most up to date information about the difficulties facing these sectors. These include:

- The Tourism Recovery Taskforce;

- The Hospitality and Tourism Forum;

- The Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce;

- The Sports Monitoring Group.

In addition to these groups I have established the Night-time Economy Taskforce and the Future of Media Commission, both of which are looking at longer term polices in respect of night time culture and media respectively.  

The Government's - The Path Ahead - plan particularly recognises the need for bespoke sectoral supports to address the worst impacted sectors in the forthcoming National Economic Recovery Plan. 

I am resolved to continue to work with stakeholders across my sectors to monitor the evolving situation and to work with my Government colleagues to support these sectors not just during this pandemic, but into the all-important recovery phase which will follow it.

There has already been some key changes for the sports and tourism sectors in April. These include the reopening of outdoor visitor attractions, outdoor sports facilities and the return of underage non-contact outdoor training (which includes dance) in pods of 15.

As we come into the summer months more activity can take place outside. Fáilte Ireland’s Outdoor Dining Enhancement Scheme, which is being delivered in partnership with the local authorities, aims to develop outdoor dining capacity nationwide with a budget of €17million.  €5m is also being allocated by my Department to local authorities to facilitate programming of outdoor live performances in summer 2021, animating town centres for local communities, should public health considerations permit.  It will allow for the procurement by local authorities of performances by local performers.

Over the coming months, as the restrictions ease and the vaccine programme is rolled-out, we will see the safe and successful reopening of our society, and with it our Tourism sector, our Arts and Culture venues and events, and the eventual welcoming back of fans to our sportsgrounds.

Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party)
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94. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her plans to support businesses to allocate more public space for outdoor dining establishments to allow persons of all ages to feel safer and to increase the capacity of dining establishments which are trying to recover their businesses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21869/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Assisting 100 million people in 88 countries, the World Food Programme (WFP) is the United Nations humanitarian organisation saving and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. It works in partnership with other UN and international organisations, NGOs, civil society and the private sector to enable communities and countries to meet their own food needs. The WFP plays a significant role in the UN’s global campaign for Zero Hunger (Sustainable Development Goal 2) and is at the forefront of dealing with the migration crisis. For its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict, WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.  

My Department leads on Ireland’s engagement with the WFP, which is funded exclusively from voluntary contributions. Ireland’s commitment to the WFP, expressed through three-yearly Strategic Partnership Agreements, was €70million for the period 2019-2021. My Department is currently leading on the preparations for the next SPA (2022-2024). This contribution will help save lives and support food security and nutrition and rebuild livelihoods in fragile settings and it reaffirms Ireland’s role as one of WFP’s most engaged partners.  Ireland also chairs Friends of Nutrition, an informal space where Member States and the World Food Programme can come together to discuss the shared ambition for nutrition. Also, my Department represented Ireland at the WFP Executive Board in 2018 and 2019 as part of the rotating board membership. Ireland will sit on the Board again in 2023.