Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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255. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the progress of the night time economy pilot for the nine cities and towns announced in October 2022; and if she will provide a schedule for the expected progress in the delivery of these pilot schemes and the various supports, appointments and funding involved. [58958/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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I recently announced the locations of the 9 towns and cities which will take part in the new Night-Time Advisor pilot initiative. The selected pilots are Dublin City, Cork City, Limerick City, Galway City, Kilkenny, Drogheda, Sligo, Buncrana and Longford Town. The selection process was led by the City and County Management Association (CCMA) with support from my Department and an independent panel reviewed and selected the successful applications. This is in direct response to Action 19 in the Report of the Night-Time Economy Taskforce which I launched last year.

My Department will be providing the funding for the Advisor posts and my officials are working with the CCMA to finalise details in relation to the role and to ensure that the recruitment process to appoint the officers gets underway as soon as possible.

It is expected that the new Night-Time Economy Advisors will help to drive and support a more sustainable Night-Time Economy in their specific areas. They will work with businesses, communities, venues, residents and artists to create a more vibrant night-life for all and bring vitality back to our city and town centres in a safe and sustainable way. Each new Advisor will be tasked with establishing a new Night-Time Economy Committee which will be diverse, inclusive and dynamic. The Advisors will have to ensure that all existing local structures are assessed to ensure synergies are developed where possible.

A consultation process will also be undertaken leading to the development of an action plan setting out a range of interventions to support the co-ordinated development of the area’s Night-Time Economy.

I would like to thank the CCMA for their role in leading this process and I look forward to getting the Advisors in place as soon as possible and getting started.