Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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168. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which she has received representations from the tourism, culture and arts sectors in connection with the need to ensure adequate support for the revival of the industry in the wake of various challenges including Covid, the Russian war in the Ukraine and other competition factors with a view to identifying the best way to support the sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57210/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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I refer the Deputy to my response to Parliamentary Question No 153 of 29^thSeptemberlast, which details the support measures that my Department has put in place for the Tourism, Arts and Culture Sectors under my Department's remit.

As the Deputy will be aware, in order to meet the challenges arising from cost of living increases, as well as those challenges referenced by the Deputy, I announced, on 28th September last, details of a €1,142m gross funding allocation for my Department, under Budget 2023.This funding support brings a wide range of important new initiatives and a continuation of some existing measures to support further growth and development for these Sectors.

My Department continues to engage with Stakeholders across the entirety of its remit to ensure support is provided to these Sectors. Details of this engagement, through fora such as the Tourism Recovery Oversight Group, the Sustainable Tourism Working Group and the Night-Time Economy Taskforce, are available on my Department’s website.

I can also advise that, in the period leading up to Budget 2023, I received pre-Budget submissions from over 20 groups across the Arts and Tourism Sectors. I also attended pre-budget meetings with the Arts Council, the National Campaign for the Arts and the Irish Hotels Federation. Details of my diaryare available on my Department’s website.

The Deputy can be assured that officials in my Department and I will continue to engage closely with stakeholders across the various sectors under my remit, with a view to ensuring we remain responsive to existing and emerging challenges.