Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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236. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of the shared island approach to arts and culture; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10434/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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The Government’s Shared Islandinitiative led by the Department of the Taoiseach aims to harness the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement to enhance cooperation, connection and mutual understanding on the island and engage with all communities and traditions to build consensus around a shared future. It involves:

- working with the Northern Ireland Executive and the British Government to address strategic challenges faced on the island of Ireland,

- further developing the all-island economy, deepening North/South cooperation, and investing in the North West and border regions

- fostering constructive and inclusive dialogue and a comprehensive programme of research to support the building of consensus around a shared future on the island.

Through this process the government will deliver existing commitments and develop a new generation of cross-border projects to achieve a more connected, sustainable and prosperous island, through all-island partnership in the years ahead.

I welcome the fact that the funding priorities of the Reconciliation Fund Strategy 2021-2024 at the Department of Foreign Affairs will seek to support projects aimed at repairing issues which lead to division, conflict, and barriers to a deeply reconciled and peaceful society and/or building a strong civil society that encompasses all communities. I note that the Fund encompasses applications that use any of a wide number of approaches to bring people from different backgrounds together including amongst other things arts, culture, and sports.

I am particularly keen that the arts, culture and creativity represent a key pillar in the Shared Island initiative. I believe they can play a unique role in connecting people and communities, broadening civic connections across the different communities of this island so that we have more opportunities to understand each other, and supporting a vibrant and diverse cultural and creative sector across the island. To that end, I look forward to further exploring artistic and cultural exchange across the island in the years ahead through a wide range of cross-border initiatives in arts, culture, music, film, and through my Department's Creative Ireland Programme.