Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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216. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the funding streams that are available to citizens to assist them to meet the costs for the unveiling of a plaque (details supplied). [63115/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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My role as Minister with responsibility for leading the coordination of the Decade of Centenaries Programme 2012-2023 is to help ensure that the challenging events of this important and formative period in our history and related themes, are meaningfully, proportionately and sensitively remembered. The Government's approach to commemorations continues to be underpinned by the guidance of the Expert Advisory Group on Centenary Commemorations (EAG) and informed by consultation with the All-Party Consultation Group on Commemorations. The Easter Rising has a great historical significance and legacy. In 2016, those who participated in the events of 1916 were recognised by the State with a broad, imaginative, inclusive and well-resourced Ireland 2016 programme.

While the provision or maintenance of memorials, erection of monuments, plaques, busts or statues and the production of commemorative medals or pins are not generally supported under my Department's funding allocation to the Decade of Centenaries Programme 2012-2023, I allocated almost €2m in funding for local authorities in 2022 under the Programme, to support their leading role in developing community-led commemorative activities during this final phase of the Decade of Centenaries. I expect to maintain a similar level of funding to the authorities under the Programme in 2023.

My Department has developed comprehensive guidance for the allocation of funding to assist local authorities. However, it is, of course, within the discretion of individual local authorities to provide support from within their own resources to local communities who wish to erect and maintain monuments, where this is deemed to be the appropriate approach. The Group referred to by the Deputy can apply for funding for their event, through the relevant local authority contact and I understand that the Decade of Centenaries co-ordinator for Dublin City Council is Brendan Teeling (Brendan.teeling@dublincity.ie/).