Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

245. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the main policy achievements of her Department since 27 June 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27971/24]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department in its current configuration was established in September 2020. As stated in my Department's Statement of Strategy 2023-2025, our mission is to lead the sustainable development of Tourism, Media and the Gaeltacht and promote participation in the Culture, Arts, and Sports sectors and the Irish language, supporting social progress, and enhancing cultural and economic growth across Irish society.

My Department implements policy to ensure the achievement of this mission and details on some of the recent policy achievements of this Department can be found in my Department’s Statement of Strategy 2023-2025 (www.gov.ie/en/publication/502f6-statement-of-strategy-2023-2025/) and my Department’s 2020 and 2021 annual reports (www.gov.ie/en/publication/daa43-annual-report-2020/). My Department’s 2022 annual report was published in November 2023(www.gov.ie/en/publication/7153c-annual-report-2022/ ) and further frames the advancements made towards achieving the mission and goals as set out in our Statement of Strategy.

Working with Minister of State Thomas Byrne T.D., my Department is committed to the ongoing development, promotion and support of the Department’s diverse sectors and continues to make significant progress. Some of the key highlights of the many recent initiatives and policy achievements across the Department are set out below.

Tourism

• In Budget 2024, I secured the funding of 216 million to support the sector, which underpins the comprehensive programme of work by both tourism agencies for a range of measures such as climate action, sustainable destination and product development to build the appeal of destinations across Ireland. Within this overall allocation up to 10 million is available for a specific programme of supports targeted at tourism business experiencing challenges associated with a reduction in footfall in regions most impacted by tourism bed-stock displacement.
• Fáilte Ireland has launched four new Regional Tourism Strategies, which will provide a framework for sustainable tourism development across Ireland.
• €7.6 million in Shared Island funding has been secured for a project linking the Causeway Coastal Route and the Wild Atlantic Way.
• €7.75 million in Brexit Adjustment Reserve funding has allowed Tourism Ireland to put in place a marketing strategy to retain business from Great Britain, increase the numbers of EU visitors in Ireland to reduce dependence on the Great Britain market and drive greater market diversification.
• Following the appointment of the Northern Ireland Executive in February this year, the meetings of the North South Ministerial Council have resumed. At the first meeting of the Tourism Sectoral on 24 June I affirmed my Department’s commitment to work together with all stakeholders towards achieving a sustainable tourism sector. I also signed a Joint Ministerial Statement supporting Sustainable Tourism and agreed to the establishment of a Joint Strategic Coordination Group to identify and examine opportunities that will support the sustainable development of the tourism sector across the island.
• I am currently progressing the development of a new national tourism policy framework to mainstream sustainability across the entire sector in the period to 2030. While it will aim to grow the tourism sector, the objective will be to do so in a manner consistent with our broader sustainability targets. While initial consultations with key stakeholders were completed in 2023, earlier this year I launched an online survey seeking the views of the public to help finalise the Framework. My department recently completed an analysis of all these submissions and the matters raised will be fully considered when finalising the Policy Framework. In this regard, I hope to publish the Policy Framework itself shortly.

• The Basic Income for the Arts scheme is a three-year pilot that I established as a research project so that an evidence base can be developed around the impact of such a payment to artists. This in turn which will inform future Government policy in relation to how Ireland supports her artists. In 2023, evaluation of the scheme began, and four research papers have been published analysing the data collected thus far.
• In June 2023, I launched a sectoral consultation for a new national policy framework on culture and climate. The aim of the policy framework is to start the process of guiding and supporting the sector’s response to the climate emergency. Work is ongoing to finalise the policy.
• In June 2024, I announced details of a new pilot capital scheme that will enable Local Authorities to increase the provision of Artist Workspaces across Ireland. This €6 million funding aims to increase the provision of affordable workspaces for artists and ensure the timely delivery of arts and culture capital investment commitments.
• There was an increase of €2m to the ceiling for donations to National Cultural Institutions under Section 1003 of the Taxes Consolidation Act announced in Budget 2024. The annual capacity of the scheme was increased from €6m to €8m, which is the first increase since 2002.
• Significant progress has been made across the 36 actions in the Report of the Night-Time Economy Taskforce, including the appointment of nine Night-Time Advisors who will help to drive and support a more sustainable Night-Time Economy in their local areas.
• Building on the legacy of the Decade of Centenaries and the work of the Expert Advisory Group on Centenary Commemorations, I am continuing the supportive and facilitative approach in planning for future commemorations.
• A new Advisory Committee on the Representation of Women and Women’s Stories within the collections of the National Cultural Institutions has been appointed to examine how the diverse experiences and voices of women, particularly historically marginalised women, are represented in the context of the national cultural institutions and the national collections.

• Significant new investment has been made in developing the Irish language in our schools, including over €2m for the expansion of the Gaelbhratach programme in 2023 and the extension of the Languages Assistants Scheme to statutory Gaeltacht Service Towns and Irish Language Networks.
• In line with the Programme for Government commitment, legislation is currently being drafted to provide for the return of elections to the Board of Údarás na Gaeltachta.
• My Department published the new Strategy for the Language-based Arts and associated action plan in March of this year.
• The Digital Plan for the Irish language was published in December 2022. My Department intends to finalise the establishment of a steering group in the coming weeks, which will be tasked with setting out the implementation of the Plan for the next five years.
• The Official Languages (Amendment) Act, 2021 was enacted in December 2021. Through this, public bodies will be supported in increasing the number and quality of the public services provided through Irish, and increase the number of staff competent in the Irish language.
• In 2022 a provision relating to advertising carried out by public bodies was commended, whereby they must now carry out 20% of advertising through the Irish language and spend 5% of any advertising budget on advertising done through Irish in Irish language media. This provision has greatly increased the visibility of the language across all media platforms used by public bodies.
• The statutory Irish Language Services Advisory Committee was established in June 2022. The Committee has overall responsibility for the preparation of the National Plan for Irish Language Public Services,which was submitted to Minister of State Byrne in June 2024 for consideration before its submission to Government within 3 months.
• The appointment of the Placenames Committee on a statutory basis will enable the passing of eight placenames orders for various counties over the lifetime of the next Placenames Committee.

• Minister of State Byrne launched the National Code of Conduct Template for Irish sports in 2023, which sets forth a set of guidelines and principles that promotes the behaviour and conduct expected from athletes, coaches, parents/guardians, supporters,referees/officials, and club members, regardless of the sporting environment.
• Minister Byrne also launched a new, multi-annual Social Innovation in Sport programme to develop innovative social inclusion programmes through the use of sport and physical activity, with a specific focus on individuals at risk of social exclusion and poverty.
• Participation rates in sport reached a record high in 2023, standing at 47%, with women’s sports participation increasing by 6% between 2022 and 2023, to 46% compared to 49% for men.
• Female representation on the boards of sports organisations has increased from just 24% in 2019 to 45% in 2024.
• High Performance Sport has seen the highest ever level of investment , with €25 million allocated in 2024.
• The Women in Sport Programme saw record investment of €4 million for 2024.
• My Department is continuing to support the hosting of Major Sports Events in Ireland and to explore further hosting opportunities. This is evidenced by the Government’s support for events such as the US College Football Classic every August from 2022 – 2026, the hosting of the UEFA Europa League Final in 2024, the Ryder Cup in 2027 in Limerick and the EURO 2028 football championships.
• Under the latest round of the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP), in May 2024, Minister of State Byrne and I announced that over €26 million in equipment-only grants had been provisionally allocated to over 900 projects. A record €250 million is being made available under this round of the SCEP, which represents a 50% increase in funding compared with the previous 2020 round of the Programme.
• Since January 2020, 33 individual projects have benefitted from funding under the first round of the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF), bringing the total awarded to date to €124 million. Furthermore, funding of up to €120 million was announced under the second round of LSSIF, which opened for applications in April 2024. As part of this new round, in April we launched the new Similar Access Requirement which now means that recipients of LSSIF funding must accommodate the needs of women and men, on a similar basis, with respect to accessing the facilities that have been allocated public funding. Any organisation that is in receipt of LSSIF funding must have a similar access policy in place, and must work towards publishing it as soon as possible.

Media

• The Online Safety and Media Regulation Act was signed into law in December 2022. Under the Act a new multi-person regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, was established on 15 March 2023 and commissioners were appointed. An Coimisiún is establishing a new regulatory framework for online safety and will enforce updated rules for broadcasters and video on-demand providers.
• Further to the publication of the Future of Media Commission report in July 2022, Government established an Implementation Group to develop an Implementation Strategy and Action Plan to give effect to the accepted recommendations. The Plan was published in January 2023.
• The Future of Media Commission recommended the establishment of a new Media Fund to provide support for the provision of public service content by the wider media and journalism sector at local, regional and national levels on a platform neutral basis. I secured €6m in Budget 2024 for new Local Democracy and Courts Reporting Schemes. These are being prioritised for implementation by Coimisiún na Meán this year. Further details on the timelines for the rollout of the schemes will be made available by Coimisiún na Meán in due course.
• July 2023, I launched an examination of RTÉ consisting of Reviews of Governance and Culture and of Contractor Fees, HR and Other Matters and the appointment of a forensic accountant to examine the RTÉ barter account and any other off-balance sheet accounts. On 7 May 2024, I published both the Reviews and the report of the forensic accountant. On 24 June 2024, both my Department and RTÉ published implementation plans, setting out how the 116 recommendations of the Reviews would be implemented.
• In September, I launched Cúla4, TG4’s new Irish language television service for children and young people, which follows a period of sustained investment in TG4.
• A multi-stakeholder Working Group has been established to develop a National Counter Disinformation Strategy.
• €16.7 million has been secured for approximately 200 radio and television projects through the Sound and Vision Scheme.

My Department and I as Minister, will continue to invest, legislate and deliver policy and funding for these important sectors, which provide critically important services in our communities, and are integral to our economy and our society.