Arts, sport and tourism minister highlights recovery supports following turbulent year of Government in a pamdemic

Reopening plans afoot for sectors hardest hit as Minister Martin looks back

The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, has reiterated that key sectors will be supported amid hopes of a resurgence in the Arts, Sport and Tourism.

Reflecting on her first year in office, Ms Martin outlined key funding and measures which have helped sectors survive during the toughest periods of the pandemic.

Minister Martin said: “We have grounds to be optimistic as society reopens cautiously. I am committed to supporting our much-valued sectors, such as Tourism, Culture, the Gaeltacht, Sport and the Arts, as they reopen.

“The government’s strategic and phased approach to reopening has been successful to date. We also have rolled out targeted supports to not only help sectors such as the Arts, Sport and Tourism survive, but to ensure they are well-placed for recovery. We can also expect an increase in numbers attending cultural events and domestic tourism locations, as restrictions, including for indoors, are eased more in the days ahead.

“As I said a year ago, the challenges facing these sectors are without precedent and I have and will continue to work towards their recovery.”

In July, subject to the public health situation, there will be further easing of restrictions, as outlined here.

Some of the key measures introduced by Minister Martin to date to help support the Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media sectors, as well as other major announcements in all sectors under the department’s remit, are outlined below.

Many of these supports are included in the Economic Recovery Plan, recently launched by Minister Martin and her colleagues in Government, which sets out a framework for recovery as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, and specifically recognises the unique challenges faced by the Tourism, Hospitality, Arts and Live Entertainment sectors.

TOURISM

• A €26m Covid Adaptation Fund for the tourism sector

• A €17m Outdoor Dining Enhancement Scheme

• New Outdoor Service Enhancement Scheme will aim to assist eligible bars to enhance their outdoor service offering

• A €10m grant for coach tourism

• A €10m Ireland Based Inbound Agents Business Continuity Scheme

• €8m Restart Grant Plus for B&B

• A €55m Tourism Business Continuity Scheme

• Recovery Oversight Group publish first report

• €73m to develop four new world-class tourist attractions

• €19m to develop state-of-the-art facilities for outdoor water-based activities

CULTURE AND ARTS

• Live Performance Support Scheme: €50 million suite of measures to support live entertainment, €25m of which was allocated recently

• Pilot Live Events: Amid easing of restrictions, pilot live events are taking place to examine the logistics and protections to inform how venues re-open

• Increased Arts Council funding to €130m

• Publication of the Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce report, Life Worth Living, and the establishment of an oversight group

• The establishment of a Night Time Economy Taskforce, the final report of which will be brought to government shortly

• €5m to support key cultural organisations, arts and cultural infrastructure and digital cultural content

• Announcement of plans for a Basic Income Guarantee pilot scheme for artists

• €14m Music and Entertainment Business Assistance Scheme

• €1.5m in funding for the promotion of the Arts globally

• Creative Climate Action €2m fund to promote awareness of climate change

• Expanded Markievicz Award and 2021 recipients announced

• New Decade of Centenaries Artist-in-Residence Scheme announced

• New 20th Century History of Ireland Galleries at the National Museum of Ireland

• Music Industry Stimulus Package of €1.7m, to support artists and music industry professionals through songwriting, album support and recordings

• Pilot Live Performance Support Scheme €5m

• €1.94m for local authorities under Decade of Centenaries programme in 2021

• Launch of Mná 100 – an online initiative around role of revolutionary women

• Decade of Centenaries Local Authority funding €900,000

• €230,000 for Minding Creative Minds to support creative sector

• €5m to local authorities for outdoor live performances

• €5m capital supports for live entertainment sector

• €1m to St. Patrick’s Festival

• 422 artworks by 70 artists added to the National Collection through €1m

• New Decade of Centenaries programme 2021-2023 announced

• New supports for young people after lockdown -Creative Youth Conference

• Supported Hot Press Y&E Series with 160 emerging artists performing online

• Creative Ireland’s Cruinniú na nÓg took place online

• Modernisation of institutions through the National Cultural Institutions (NCIs) Investment Programme in the National Development Plan

• Increased funding for Screen Ireland to €30m to help overcome COVID crisis

GAELTACHT

• A €5m Company Stabilisation Support for Gaeltacht Companies

• Extra €8m for Údarás na Gaeltachta under July 2020 Stimulus package

• €7.4m in supports from Údarás na Gaeltachta to assist Gaeltacht business

• €500k for TechSpace - network of digital spaces to help young people

• €3.4m for Údarás na Gaeltachta/Foras na Gaeilge for language planning

• Bursaries for Gaeltacht artists - €280,000

• Progressed Official Languages Bill through committee stage including key amendments to strengthen Irish usage across the public sector

• Review of Údarás na Gaeltachta election/ selection process to commence

• 22 language plans approved as well as 4 Gaeltacht service towns announced

SPORT

• Live Pilot Tests: In preparation for easing of restrictions, a select number of pilot events are taking place to inform guidance for venues reopening

• An unprecedented €85 million funding package for the Irish sport sector

• Guidelines published to support safe return of spectators to events

• Sports Capital and Equipment Programme helps clubs and associations, with a record 3,106 applications. All allocations finalised before year-end.

• Work is advancing on projects under Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund

• €5.9m Dormant Accounts funds for sport and physical activity measures

• €2.5 million funding package for swimming pool operators

• A new High Performance Strategy for sporting sector launched

• Levelling the field for male and female Gaelic Games players – for the first time ever-the State will provide equal per head support funding to inter county players ending the discrepancy between male and female players

MEDIA

• Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill – additional measures proposed to assist community broadcasters, public service media and the radio sector (info) and to help avoid the spread of harmful content

• Public consultation on the designation of sporting and other events as being of major importance to society

• The Future of Media Commission, which will chart a pathway for public service broadcasting and independent media

• Extra €6.9m for BAI Sound and Vision including for live music projects and independent radio

• Additional funding of €1.2m alongside New Decade, New Approach agreement for promotion of Irish language broadcasting in Northern Ireland.