Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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28.To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount allocated to the promotion of culture abroad through his Department, in the years 2019 to 2023 and to date in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31526/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The promotion of Irish culture abroad makes an important contribution to the achievement of our foreign policy goals, and in raising awareness, appreciation and understanding of Ireland. The enhancement of our cultural diplomacy and international cultural relations forms a key pillar of the Global Ireland 2025 strategy, and my Department works closely with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in delivering the cultural objectives of the strategy.

Supporting cultural expression amongst our diaspora is also central to the Government’s Diaspora Strategy 2020-2025, with “Our Culture” being one of the five pillars of that strategy, the implementation of which is the responsibility of my Department.

Cultural promotion therefore encompasses a range of programme activity within my Department, both at Headquarters and across our global Mission network. The annual totals for programme spend on cultural promotion activity for 2019-2023, along with our projected spend on cultural promotion for 2024, are as follows:

Overall expenditure on cultural activity in each year is likely to be higher than the figures set out above, as a number of broader public diplomacy initiatives carried out by Missions (including community and economic diplomacy activities) would include a cultural element, but a precise breakdown of the amount spent specifically on promoting culture is not quantifiable for such events.