From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, and Minister of State, Jack Chambers, today announced details of €1,142 million gross funding allocated to the department in Budget 2023. These new funding streams and measures run in parallel to, and in addition to, the wider, all-of-society Cost of Living support measures announced by the government yesterday. Separately, the government has announced a strong package of horizontal supports, helping citizens, practitioners, organisations and groups manage the current cost of living increases.
Minister Catherine Martin said:
“Cost of Living increases are putting additional pressures on the sectors overseen by my department, in common with wider society. These sectors are emerging from the extraordinarily challenging COVID-19 crisis in a relatively stable condition, given the extent of COVID-specific government supports throughout. The government has now responded strongly to the fresh pressures brought by increasing energy costs and inflation.
“In that context, Budget 2023 brings a wide range of exciting and important new initiatives, supporting further growth and development with the important sectors of tourism, arts and culture, Gaeltacht, sport and media. Government is committed to strengthening the media sector, which plays such a vital role in our democracy and wider society. This Budget marks a significant step in Government’s commitment to the sector following the publication of the Future of Media Commission report in July. The allocations being announced today lay the foundation for an expanded regulatory and support framework for a sector which has undergone profound change in recent years. To complement the changes in the VAT rates applied to newspapers and news periodicals in printed and digital formats announced by Minister Donohoe, the new Media Fund will enable direct support to the sector, regardless of the platform, to enable the continued provision to the Irish people of high-quality, trusted public service media content. The largest ever increase in funding to TG4 not only underpins Government’s commitment to delivering on the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, but is a further boost to the Irish language creative sector. This increase will also enable TG4 to launch a new dedicated children’s channel, Cúla4, which builds on the success of existing Cúla4 programming, BLOC and Molscéal. This new channel will include a children’s news service, entertainment and education content, drama, Irish animation, and will reflect the diverse backgrounds of children living in all parts of Ireland, but particularly in Gaeltacht and Irish speaking communities.
“We continue to invest in the development of the Arts and artists, with the record €130 million annual funding for the Arts Council now in place for the third year running, and new funding streams to support artists’ studios and spaces, among a wide range of measures, all detailed below. And our important Tourism Industry will see €15 million continued additional funding for Fáilte Ireland initiatives, including support for domestic festivals and marketing; Digital Transformation; US College Football strategy and Sustainable Tourism actions with a further €15 million allocated to marketing Ireland overseas as a destination, and the development of the Invitation project.
“In relation to the current cost of living challenges, The Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme announced yesterday will support those businesses in my sectors, mainly in the Tourism sector, dealing with the impact of increased natural gas and electricity costs.
“I will also work with my government colleagues and sectors in relation to the €60 million support provided in 2022 for the impact of increased energy bills on the not-for-profit and voluntary organisations in a number of sectors, including the sectors under my aegis.”
Minister Jack Chambers said:
“Budget 2023 brings a number of important new initiatives and programmes which will help grow participation in sport and physical activity, as well as building further on the engagement people enjoy when they partake in, or watch, the sports they love. We are allocating funds to Sport Ireland to continue the support for elite athletes as they prepare for the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris in 2024 on the back of phenomenal recent success at the highest level across a range of sports. We are establishing a dedicated coaching fund for National Governing Bodies of Sport to support coaches and to ensure our best and brightest talents have the expertise they need to achieve their full potential. The funding increase will also deliver on the other key actions set out in the Sports Action Plan 2021-2023 including the further roll out of ‘SportForAll’ initiatives, so there are increased opportunities to play and participate for all people, regardless of age, ability or background. In addition, €35 million is being allocated to sports clubs and organisations to help them meet energy costs this winter. This special fund will help clubs with the cost of floodlights, heating gyms and sports halls, as well as other energy costs which I know will be of enormous benefit to the entire sporting system.
“There is also additional funding of €8.5 million for Irish-language and Gaeltacht programmes in the year ahead, as well asa new Digital Plan for the Irish Language, and a Strategy for the Language-based Arts. Language-related social inclusion measures will be expanded, with additional funding of €2.5 million for Gaeltacht Support Schemes which will be used primarily to support the Irish summer colleges sector and expand social inclusion measures allowing students from DEIS schools to visit the Gaeltacht. In addition, increased funding is being made available for TG4, which will help consolidate the use of Irish as a community language in Gaeltacht areas, and indeed its use across Ireland as a whole. Seen alongside the government’s historic Cost of Living supports package announced yesterday which will also support the Gaeltacht regions, Budget 2023 represents a measured and targeted approach to supporting our important sectors over the coming year.”
The department’s Tourism Services programme aims to support the tourism industry to recover and grow in a sustainable way.
Budget 2023 has secured continued additional funding of €15 million for overseas marketing of Ireland as a leading holiday destination and the development of the Invitation project.
Domestically, continued additional funding of €15 million will deliver a range of measures to support the sector including domestic marketing, transforming the digital capabilities of tourism businesses, boosting the industry’s recruitment and retention efforts, sustainable tourism initiatives, long-term investment in the US College Football Classic series, and establishment of a register of short-term letting properties as part of the government’s “Housing for All” reforms.
The department’s Arts and Culture programme aims to promote and develop Ireland’s world class artistic and creative strengths 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 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, including a new scheme, details of which will be announced shortly.
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. This responds to concerns about harassment and inequality in the sector as found in the ‘SPEAK UP’ report.
We will also explore options for 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.
The aim of the department’s Gaeltacht programme is to support the Irish Language and to further strengthen its use as the principal community language of the Gaeltacht in the context of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030. Highlights are available below.
An initial allocation of €1 million (in 2023) to accelerate the implementation of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 with a view to achieving the Act’s ambitious recruitment targets for Irish language speakers into the public service by 2030.
An additional allocation of €1.75 million for the department’s Irish Language Support Schemes, supporting the implementation of the imminent Digital Plan for the Irish Language and Strategy for the Language-Based Arts.
Additional funding of €2.5 million for the department’s Gaeltacht Support Schemes which will be used for a number of initiatives including the provision of additional support to the Irish summer colleges sector and the expansion of language-related social inclusion measures.
Provision of €400,000 for the expansion of the TEG testing system for proficiency in Irish (operated by Maynooth University), catering for greater use of TEG in the context of enhanced Irish language training in the Civil & Public Service.
Over €300,000 for the expansion of the EU Internships Scheme to enhance capacity in specialised linguistic departments. Expansion of the scheme to include Conference Interpreting to ensure that Irish maintains its strong standing as an EU official language.
Increased funding totalling €1.3 million for Údarás na Gaeltachta and Foras na Gaeilge for these organisations‘ work in supporting the Gaeltacht community and Irish language publishing sectors respectively.
An additional €0.75 million for the statutory language planning process.
The department’s Sports and Recreation programme aims to contribute to a healthier and more active society by promoting sports participation and by supporting high performance and the provision of sports facilities.
Additional funding to Sport Ireland of €8 million, which will support increased funding to High Performance sport in the lead-in to the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games and the ongoing implementation of key actions in the Action Plan for Sport 2021-2023 to drive increased participation, including completion of a National Swimming Strategy and the establishment of a dedicated coaching fund for National Governing Bodies of Sport.
Continue the development of the Sport Ireland Campus in Blanchardstown to deliver world class, state of the art sporting infrastructure and facilities for high performance athletes and the general public.
Support sports measures via the Dormant Accounts Funding to target hard-to-reach communities including people with disabilities to promote and sustain participation in sport and physical activity as part of the ‘SportForAll’ approach.
Fund the Major Events Division to consider and host major sporting competitions here including Euro 2028, the 2027 Ryder Cup and the 2030 Cricket World Cup.
Government is committed to promoting and supporting a diverse and plural media sector as one of the key pillars of our democracy and wider society. This will be achieved through the establishment of a new body, Coimisiún na Meán, to support the provision of high quality public service media, high quality content for the Irish public, and effective regulation of online safety.
Exchequer funding of €7.5 million in 2023 will support the establishment of the new media regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, which will oversee the regulatory regime for online safety and put in place an expanded development and support framework for the wider media sector.
A key element of this framework will be a new Media Fund, recommended by the Future of Media Commission, providing supports to the entire media sector on a platform-neutral basis.
As a first step, Government is providing €6 million to enable the introduction of Courts Reporting and Local Democracy Reporting Schemes in 2023. This will apply to local, regional and national media.
These new supports complement the changes to VAT on newspapers and news periodicals in printed and digital formats, which will enable newspapers to invest in all news platforms and independent journalism The Future of Media Commission recommended interim funding of €15 million for RTE in 2022.
€15 million is being made available in 2022 for public service broadcasting; this funding will be used to address the Commission’s recommendation on funding for RTE. This funding will be provided to RTE through the licence fee mechanism and recognises the increasing number of free TV licences being provided to the over 70s.
An additional €7.3 million will allow TG4 continue to fulfil its vital role in ensuring the provision of high-quality Irish language audiovisual content, serving our Irish-speaking communities, and supporting regional creativity and content production, and delivering on the government’s continued commitment to its 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 and associated 5-Year Action Plan.
This increased funding will also support the launch a new dedicated Irish language children’s channel, Cúla4, to enhance services for younger audiences.
The department press conference will take place at 10.30am Wednesday, 28 September 2022. It can be viewed live at the following link: https://twitter.com/merrionstreet
Photographs of the press conference will be circulated by Maxwell Photography as soon as possible after the event.