Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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46. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department or the Arts Council provide any funding to support competitions, competitive prizes, or festivals in the fields of literature, writing, music, singing, visual arts, architecture, ballet or film. [38039/24]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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My Department funds a variety of projects under the B6 Subhead in support of objectives under our high-level goal in relation to developing individual and community engagement with and in the arts, culture and creativity and promoting Ireland’s arts, culture, and creativity globally.

The Arts Council offers a wide range of schemes that provide funding to artists and arts organisations. These include the Festivals Investment Scheme which is a competitive scheme that offers funding to support the staging of festivals on a non-recurring basis. Normally, the Arts Council does not provide funding for competitions, as it is focused on supporting the development and creation of artistic work, rather than competitive events. The Council's mission is to foster artistic expression, encourage innovation, and provide opportunities for artists to create and present their work. The Arts Council’s funding priorities align with projects that contribute to the wider cultural landscape, such as educational initiatives, professional development, and new productions.

With particular emphasis on smaller events organised at community and local level, my Department operates an annual scheme that provides support for festivals in the fields of literature, writing, music, singing, visual arts, architecture, ballet or film.?This Small Scale Local Festivals and Summer School Scheme is designed to support local cultural festivals and summer schools which are not in receipt of other central Government monies and which may not be eligible under funding criteria for larger scale events supported by Fáilte Ireland, the Arts Council and similar bodies. 16 projects were approved for support in 2024 amounting to €68,945.? Cultural initiatives can seek funding under this scheme, which will operate again in 2025. Details of eligibility and application forms can be found at www.gov.ie/en/publication/89595-small-scale-local-festivals-and-summer-schools/.

My Department has provided support for a small number of music competitions - the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition, the Dublin International Piano Competition and the National Concert Hall’s Bernadette Greevy Bursary. While it is recognised that these competitions provide opportunities for performers from Ireland and abroad to raise their profile and further their career, the support arrangements are to be reviewed shortly in the light of growing demands and limited resources.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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47. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht whether or not compliance with employment law, as part of public procurement guidelines, was a condition required to receive grants from her Department such as the live performance support scheme or LPGRS; and the procedure, if any, that was in place to assess compliance in order to ensure such a condition was met. [38051/24]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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48. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of recipients of the live performance support scheme, the music and entertainment business assistance scheme, the local live performance programming scheme, and the live performance restart grant scheme, were asked for and/or provided the proof of payment to artists and crews upon which payment was contingent (details supplied); the number of applicants for these grant schemes who were rejected for failure to provide this proof of payment; and the total number of artists and crew workers who benefited as a result. [38052/24]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 47 and 48 together.

The suite of supports for the live entertainment sector delivered by my Department during the pandemic sustained employment opportunities and well-being and protected the sector’s future viability, supporting over 100,000 days of employment during the pandemic.

Details of the guidelines, terms and conditions and recipients of grant offers for the Pilot Live Performance Support Scheme, Live Performance Support Scheme 2021, Live Performance Support Scheme Phase 3 and Live Performance Scheme - Strand 2 and the Live Performance Restart Grant are published on my Department's website.

The Music and Entertainment Scheme, delivered over three phases in 2021 and 2022 offered over 1600 grants as a contribution to the overheads of businesses in the entertainment sector that had been significantly affected by COVID-19 and did qualify for other business supports.

All 31 local authorities were awarded grants through the Local Live Performance Scheme which supported activity and at a local level and provided employment opportunities for performers and crews. These grants were administered by the local authorities.

The payment of grants for all schemes was contingent upon compliance with the published criteria, terms and conditions. All grantees were required to provide proof of payment to ensure that artists and crews were remunerated and that the grant awarded had been used for the purpose intended. All grantees had to declare that they were in full compliance with Public Procurement Guidelines.