Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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211. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which she expects Irish culture to continue to be promoted for economic as well as cultural reasons in the course of the current year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3916/23]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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My Department’s arts and cultural programme aims to promote and develop Ireland’s rich culture 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. The overall budget allocation for Culture in my Department's Vote for 2023 is €356.982m.

The comprehensive package for Arts and Culture for 2023 includes the following;

- The retention of the record €130 million 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 €10 million in 2023 to fund the Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme, a 3-year, €105 million scheme involving 2,000 artists and creative arts workers which will support each beneficiary in developing and sustaining a professional arts practice.

- €2 million increase in funding for Culture Ireland for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide.

- €7 million in additional capital funding for artists’ spaces and climate adaptation.

- An additional €2.5 million 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 €500,000 for supports for artists and arts workers put in place by the department in partnership with the Irish Theatre Institute and others as part of the ‘Safe to Create’ programme, coordinated by ITI.

- Up to €2 million 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 €4 million in current spending for a range of initiatives and pilot projects to support a more vibrant and diverse Night-Time Economy.

- €1 million extra for Screen Ireland for the continued implementation of the government’s 10-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.

- An allocation of €3 million to develop, oversee and manage a new archive and exhibition space as part of the overall National Centre for Research and Remembrance. 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

Irish culture in its various forms - built heritage, the arts, cultural institutions, festivals and sporting events - plays a very significant role in Ireland’s tourism offering and in that regard, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland will continue to promote cultural events and festivals through their various marketing campaigns in 2023.