Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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301. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount of funding that she announced for cultural events in Budget 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50202/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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My Department’s Arts and Cultureprogramme aims to promote and develop Ireland’s world class artistic and creative strengths at home and abroad, maximising their societal and economic value for the country, and supporting the Arts, Culture and Creative sectors to continue to develop and expand. In Budget 2023, the following programmes were announced making funding available towards a wide range of cultural events both at home and abroad.

The overall allocation for Culture in my Department's Vote for 2023 is over €353.3m.

I was pleased, within this allocation to retain the record €130m funding for the Arts Council in 2023 in recognition of the transformational impact of this funding and to support artists and arts organisations as we look to further develop the sector.

An additional €10m in 2023 has been provided to fund the Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme, a three year, €105m scheme involving 2,000 artists and creative arts workers which will support each beneficiary in developing and sustaining a professional arts practice.

I have also provided a €2m increase in funding for Culture Ireland for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide.

Complementing initiatives such as the funding for the Arts Council, the Basic Income for the Arts Pilot and Culture Ireland, is €7m in additional capital funding for artists’ spaces and climate adaptation, including a new scheme, details of which will be announced shortly.

An additional €2.5m will help ensure the National Cultural Institutions continue to provide high-quality programming, to promote learning and engagement opportunities and to safeguard the National Collections.

Up to €500k for supports for artists and arts workers has been put in place by my Department in partnership with the Irish Theatre Institute and others as part of the ‘Safe to Create’ programme, coordinated by ITI. This responds to concerns about harassment and inequality in the sector as found in the ‘SPEAK UP’ report.

My Department is also exploring options for up to €2m in capital supports for stakeholders in the Night Time Economy in the context of the implementation of the Night-Time Economy Taskforce Report. This is in addition to €4m in current spending for a range of initiatives and pilot projects to support a more vibrant and diverse Night-Time Economy.

Budget 2023 also saw a further €1m in additional funding for Screen Ireland for the continued implementation of the Government’s ten-year Audiovisual Action Plan. This is in addition to a decision by government to extend a key tax incentive for the film industry, Section 481, to 2028.

A new allocation of €3m to develop, oversee and manage a new archive and exhibition space as part of the overall National Centre for Research and Remembrance, has also been provided. This is a significant and unprecedented project of national and international importance which is being developed in partnership with a number of agencies over the coming years including the National Archives and the National Museum of Ireland.