Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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216. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the budget vote subheading from which funding for her Department’s pilot artist workspaces scheme has been provided; the length of time the pilot is intended to last; and the breakdown of funding foreseen under the pilot scheme, by year of its planned existence. [26765/24]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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Funding for the Artist Workspaces Scheme that I launched on 12 June last will be met from the B7 - Cultural Infrastructure & Development subhead of my Department's vote.

Capital funding of €6m is available to local authorities to meet the Government’s commitment under the Programme for Government to increase the provision of affordable workspaces for artists and creative practitioners. The scheme relies on local authorities proposing capital projects for artist workspaces that are fit for purpose, design focused, accessible and affordable. Capital grants ranging from €150,000 to €300,000 are available to individual local authorities. While capital grants are habitually drawn down by grantees over a period of 3 years on average, the duration of the scheme and the drawdown of the €6m funding over the next few years, will be determined by the local authorities themselves and the rate at which they complete the new workspaces.

There is no closing date for the scheme. Any funds not allocated within nine months from the launch of the scheme (by 12 March 2025) may be re-distributed to local authorities who have already applied and made significant progress with their projects subject to a detailed Business Case.

This scheme is included in the 2021-2030 NDP as capital development programme.

The programme for Government contains a number of commitments relating to creative and cultural infrastructure. With regard to National Development Plan (NDP) investment in our national cultural institutions, the Department is working closely with the OPW and the national cultural institutions to progress delivery of major capital redevelopment projects through the infrastructure guidelines.

The nature of the capital investment activities in my Department means that expenditure typically requires that funding is drawn-down by external organisations and is subject to the project timelines of such organisations. This can mean that expenditure patterns and budget profiles are difficult to precisely predict.