Press release
Budget 2022: A powerful programme of supports for the department's sectors
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, and Minister of State, Jack Chambers TD, today (13 October) announced details of €1,197,498,000 gross funding allocated to the department in Budget 2022, covering an extensive range of imaginative new funding streams and measures to support the resilience and growth of practitioners, businesses, communities and operations in sectors overseen by the department.
Minister Catherine Martin said:
“Budget 2022, which has been negotiated between the three parties in Government, delivers a powerful package of supports to strengthen the tourism, culture, Gaeltacht, sport and media sectors, right across Ireland. These measures announced in detail today, result from ongoing dialogue and engagement between the officials in my department and the sectors and communities which come under our remit. Together, we have provided strong supports throughout the very difficult COVID-19 period to help these crucially important sectors survive and, now that the country is emerging from the pandemic, we are supporting their future growth and successes.
“The measures announced in detail are, of course, sector-specific measures, but are also supplemented by the economy-wide business supports and measures announced in Budget 2022, including wage supports. Working with Minister of State Jack Chambers, this budget gives us a strong platform from which to support our sectors in their recovery, direct a renewed focus on delivery of our ambitious Programme for Government commitments, and engage with the sectors to develop new policies and initiatives."
Minister Chambers said:
“I am really pleased we have been able to increase funding for a range of programmes and initiatives for the Irish language and Sport sectors. As we emerge from the pandemic this extra support will ensure more people can return to the sports and activities they love, and allow us to build on important initiatives around participation. The continued incremental increase in funding for the Irish language will help our Gaeltacht communities to grow and prosper and are part of a suite of measures, including the Official Languages (Amendment) Bill designed to support the use of the Irish language and the provision of services through Irish.”
Tourism
The aim of the government’s Tourism policy is to support the development of a sustainable tourism sector, supporting it to recover and grow, making an impact on cities, towns, villages and rural areas across Ireland.
The Budget 2022 allocation will allow the department to:
Highlights in Tourism include:
€27m for a range of industry initiatives including:
Other allocations include:
The supports for Tourism in Budget 2022 also include a range of cross-government measures which will assist the sector in its recovery and growth. These include continuation of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme to April 2022, a €90m package for the aviation industry which should complement marketing initiatives to attract overseas visitors, and the 9% VAT rate for hospitality which remains in place until September 2022.
The government’s approval of an extension of the Targeted Rates Waiver, including tourism businesses, until the end of 2021, will further support this vital industry.
Total Tourism funding for 2022 will comprise €241.7m in current funding and €46.7m in capital funding.
Minister Martin said:
"The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on the tourism industry. As we rebuild this vital sector, which supports livelihoods all across Ireland, we have an opportunity to ensure that the sector recovers and grows in a way which delivers social and economic gain to cities, towns and villages all across Ireland, more evenly spread throughout the year, and in a manner that protects our unique environment. The significant additional funding that I have managed to secure for tourism services in Budget 2022 will help address immediate survival-related concerns while also enabling further resilience and recovery across industry as we reopen to international tourism and transition to a more sustainable future."
The Minister added:
“In addition to all of the measures announced today, my department has initiated the development of a new national tourism policy which will have sustainability as a core value. The development of this new policy gives us an opportunity to set out what type of tourism sector we want out to 2030 and beyond."
Culture and Arts
The aim of the government’s Culture programme is to promote and develop Ireland’s world class artistic and creative strengths at home and abroad, maximising their value for the country, and supporting the sectors in their recovery. The 2022 allocation will allow this department to:
Highlights in Culture and Arts include:
€4m to deliver a suite of initiatives proposed by the Night Time Economy (NTE) Task Force:
€5m to support the 2022 Commemorative Programme, delivering rich and diverse national and local programmes marking the significant centenaries arising in 2022. The ambitious Programme for the Decade of Centenaries next year will include supporting the development and delivery of:
Minister Martin said:
“As Minister with responsibility for Arts and Culture, I am conscious of the contribution that this sector makes to people’s everyday lives both in Ireland and abroad; this was particularly evident during the pandemic. The importance of Irish culture, Irish art and Irish productions as a whole cannot be understated in terms of its impact both internationally and at home. The government has recognised, with this strong and imaginative package of supports announced today, that bold steps are necessary for our much treasured arts, events and cultural community to come back stronger than ever before.”
The Minister added:
“I am particularly pleased to be announcing the pilot of the new Basic Income Guarantee Scheme for artists. Grounded in ongoing dialogue with the sector, this scheme will bring new life and support to the arts and culture sector, and I hope it will provide an important legacy for our artists, after the very difficult circumstances they have endured over the last year and a half. The measure was also the key ask from the Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce.”
Gaeltacht
The government’s Gaeltacht programme aims to support the Irish language and to strengthen its use as the principal community language of the Gaeltacht. Under this programme, the 2022 allocation will allow this department to provide:
Budget 2022 - Gaeltacht Highlights include:
In line with Programme for Government commitments, Minister Martin and Minister of State Chambers together welcomed the announcement that additional funding of €7m will be provided for the Gaeltacht and Irish language sector next year, bringing its funding allocation to over €85.6m. In addition, under the department’s Media allocation, funding to TG4 is being increased by €4.2m to bring it up to €44.933m – the organisation’s largest ever increase. Also available to TG4 next year, will be potential for significant additional advertising revenue arising from the provisions of the soon to be enacted Official Languages (Amendment) Bill.
Additional funding totalling €1.5m is being provided to Údarás na Gaeltachta which will further assist An tÚdarás in developing enterprise in Gaeltacht regions and in implementing its 5-year Strategy. This includes an extra €1m towards community development and the hard-hit Gaeltacht tourism sector in 2022, building on increases provided in the previous three Budgets. The increase in An tÚdarás’ capital allocation of €14.45m for 2021 has been retained for 2022.
The Gaeltacht will also benefit from increased allocations for the statutory language planning process and for community and language supports, in line with the government’s 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language. Additional funding of over €0.7m will also be provided for the cross-border language body, An Foras Teanga, thus building on a significant increase included in the last Budget.
Minister Chambers said:
"I am delighted to be able to provide an additional allocation of €2.3m for my department’s Language Support Schemes outside the Gaeltacht as well as an additional allocation of €1m for the department’s Community and Language Supports Programme in Gaeltacht regions. The various schemes and initiatives which operate under the programme have contributed greatly to supporting the ongoing implementation of the language planning process and the overall objectives of the Action Plan for the Irish Language 2018-2022. The additional funding being provided under my department’s Gaeltacht allocation, in addition to the significant increase for TG4, will greatly assist in supporting the ongoing implementation of the Action Plan.”
Minister Chambers added that the Official Languages (Amendment) Bill, when enacted, would not only assist in ensuring that Irish speakers are provided with services in our first language, but would provide a myriad of new employment opportunities for Irish speakers, and enhanced public service advertising revenue for Irish language media including TG4.
Sport
The aim of the government’s Sport programme is to contribute to a healthier and more active society by promoting sports participation and by supporting high performance and the provision of sport facilities.
Under this programme, the 2022 allocation will allow the department to provide:
Highlights in Sport include €96.2m current funding for Sport Ireland, an increase of €4.3m. This will ensure that Sport Ireland can continue to support Ireland’s valued sport sector and will include measures such as:
In relation to capital support for sports projects, next year’s additional funding will cover all existing commitments plus significant new allocations under the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme. The new allocations will be announced in the coming months. Sufficient funding has also been provided next year to advance relevant projects under the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund.
The government also agreed another increase in Dormant Accounts funding for sport of €2m bringing the total allocation up to €12m. This funding, more than double the level of a few years ago, will target hard-to-reach communities with innovative projects to promote and sustain participation in sport and physical activity for all.
Budget 2022 also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to developing the Sport Ireland Campus at Blanchardstown with a capital allocation of €9.6m for 2022.
Minister Chambers said:
“Budget 2022 brings a very significant investment in sport, and builds on the extensive support package provided to address the COVID-19 challenges to NGBs and clubs in 2020 and 2021. The funding complements the €65m sports funding package announced last week, and will allow Sport Ireland to continue to support our sporting bodies and ensure the emergence of a strong and vibrant sport sector post-COVID. It will also support the implementation of the High Performance Strategy approved by Government in June and a range of participation programmes to ensure that there are opportunities for everyone to engage in sport. Equality in grant funding for female and male Gaelic players is a key priority for me and Minister Martin and I am delighted that we have been able to achieve this.”
Media
The objective of the government’s Media programme is to promote, support and protect a diverse and plural media sector, including through the establishment of a new regulator, the Media Commission which will support the provision of high quality public service broadcasting and oversee effective regulation of online safety.
Under this programme, the Budget 2022 allocation will allow this department to:
Highlights in Media include:
Minister Martin said:
“I am delighted to secure €5.5m in funding for the establishment of the Media Commission in 2022. The funding will primarily be used to facilitate the formal establishment of the Media Commission, to build up regulatory capacity, structures and expertise in Online Safety and media regulation that will fall under the Commission’s remit. This will enable the Media Commission to hire an Online Safety Commissioner, to begin work on key issues at an early stage and to hit the ground running following the enactment of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill in 2022.”
The Minister also welcomed the substantial increase in funding for TG4 which is the largest annual increase in TG4 funding:
“TG4 have an ambitious post-COVID strategy; I am delighted that the additional funding I secured will allow them to deliver on their plans to put news content and younger audiences centre stage. I also recognise that TG4’s programme supports a wide range of innovative content from the regional independent production sector. The additional funding will boost content production while providing a valuable source of employment in the Gaeltacht and the West of Ireland. Together with the increased revenues anticipated from the measures in the Official Languages (Amendment) Bill, I believe that TG4 will continue to grow its invaluable services for Irish speaking communities and beyond.”
TG4 propose to invest in their digital interfaces for youth audiences and develop youth-centred news and content. They will build on the success of Cúla 4 ar Scoil, which provided educational supports during the pandemic for home schooling. TG4 also propose to invest additional funding in the regional independent production sector, including the production of younger children’s content. This is in keeping with their strategy to support the regional development of the audio-visual industry.
Minister Martin concluded by saying:
"This country is now beginning to emerge from what was the worst pandemic in a century, and one of the greatest crises of our time. The sectors covered by this department were amongst those worst impacted, and they will be amongst the last to fully recover. I have worked hard, in dialogue with sectoral representatives, officials in my department, and government colleagues to build this powerful programme of measures and supports announced here today, to ensure that the people of Ireland continue to participate in, and enjoy, the very important work that we oversee.”
Minister Chambers said:
"Sport and Gaeltacht communities in particular were extremely hard-hit by COVID-19. Last year’s budget delivered strong supports, which have helped those sectors survive. Budget 2022 is about building further on growth and success in these sectors, developing wider and deeper participation across our communities.”