Minister Catherine Martin - Budget 2021 Press Conference Speech

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Earlier this week, I was privileged to hear a very special sound, as part of preparations for Lá na Cruite, for Harp Day this year. The magical-like notes plucked by renowned harpist Cormac de Barra reminded me how important music is, how wonderful our arts and creativity are, especially at this time. The sounds captured me for just a fleeting moment.

But we want more of this, for everybody. And not just behind closed doors.

Our sectors, including the arts and tourism, have been silenced by this pandemic. Once symbols of the mighty Celtic welcome and tradition that we as a nation bestow on visitors, they have been almost shut down by the pandemic.

My job as Minister for Tourism, Arts, Culture, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media is to ensure that many of those sectors worst impacted by this virus can survive and live on, into next year and beyond.

Budget 2021 presents us with that opportunity. For months, I have engaged, listened and got to work on proposals from stakeholders in those sectors about how best to support them.

Budget 2021 reflects that work. The three-party coalition’s cumulative spending plans for next year throw a much-needed lifeline to the Arts, to those in hospitality and tourism while ongoing funding for sports bodies will help support games, clubs and training.

And I have engaged with our Gaeltacht communities, significantly increasing funds for language supports, agencies and protections, including against Brexit.

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In tourism, total funding for this sector will increase in 2021 by over €59 million over the allocation in Budget 2020 to €220.9 million.

The new €55m for strategic tourism businesses will help them survive through the pandemic and be there to help drive the recovery. Businesses will apply to Fáilte Ireland for this. And while the scheme is for 2021, Fáilte Ireland will aim to open schemes before the end of the year. Supporting fixed costs and ways of ensuring Ireland again becomes an attractive place to visit will be considered when providing funding.

A new COVID Resilience Support Scheme (CRSS) will also be overseen by my Cabinet colleague Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe. It will provide rebates for businesses temporarily closed or restricted because of the virus, including in hospitality, accommodation and the arts. A payment of up to €5,000 per week will be made, based on a business’ 2019 average weekly turnover. They can apply to the Revenue Commissioners for a cash payment in respect of an advance credit for trading expenses for the period of restrictions. And scheme is in effect from yesterday until March 31st 2021.

Budget 2021 also includes cutting VAT from 13.5% to 9% for the hospitality sector, a demand presented to me recently by the Tourism Recovery Taskforce and the Hospitality and Tourism Forum. This will help improve competitiveness among businesses and also provide them with more stability.

There will be €5m in focused training for tourism and investment in digitalisation in the sector to start to prepare for a post-Covid economy.

Investment in the Tourism Marketing Fund has also been maintained to ensure that Ireland is in a position to recover quickly when it is safe for tourists from our key markets.

While tourism is struggling now, it was a driver of recovery in the past and we need to sustain core capacity in the industry to enable it to recover again.

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My aim in the budget for the Arts has been to promote and develop Ireland's world-class artistic and creative strengths at home and abroad, maximising their societal, economic and reputational value for the country.

There will be a new €50m support for live entertainment. This will see a range of supports for live entertainment in 2021 in venues across the country, other measures to support music, as well as a new grant scheme for equipment.

This will help performers to keep performing, crews to keep working, venues to keep opening and of course the public to keep seeing shows, music and live events. The show must and will go on.

There is a separate record level of funding for the Arts Council of Ireland of €130m, an increase of some 62% on 2020, which will particularly help the traditional arts, as well as freelance artists.

There will also be increased relief and funds for the film sector as well a €8m to facilitate the transfer of the National Symphony Orchestra from RTE to the National Concert Hall.

We will continue to support the national cultural institutions, including giving them €4m to address challenges from the pandemic. An additional €10.5m next year will go help investment in institutions including the National Library of Ireland, the National Archives of Ireland and the Crawford Art Gallery.

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In Media, as already stated, we will complete the transfer of the National Symphony Orchestra from RTE to National Concert Hall. This will result in an annual saving of over €3.5m for RTE

Funding is also being provided to meet the Government’s North-South commitments, including for Irish language broadcasting in Northern Ireland. Almost €1m will also go to the BAI for the waiving of broadcasting levies.

I also recently established the Future of Media Commission jointly with the Taoiseach, which will report to Government on the vision for public service media, and how to ensure a vibrant, independent, media in the future.

Lastly, funding for TG4 is being increased by €3.5m (including €1m capital) to bring it up to its recommended level of funding of €40.7m.

This of course also supports services, jobs and the Irish language in the Gaeltacht.

Inné, fógraíodh mór-ghníomh eile don teanga - an fógra sa Cháináisnéis go bhfuil méadú de os cionn fiche faoi gcéad le teacht ar bhuiséad na Gaeilge agus na Gaeltachta i 2021. Is léir uaidh seo uile go bhfuil an Rialtas seo tiománta don teanga a chur chun cinn ar bhonn uile-oileánda agus sa Ghaeltacht, ach go háirithe. Leis an gcistíocht bhreise seo de cheathar déag ponc a sé mhilliúin Euro, beidh mo Roinn in ann níos mó airgid a dháileadh ar na heagraíochtaí éagsúla atá ag feidhmiú ar son na teanga.

Overall, there will be next year a €78m funding allocation for Gaeltacht and Irish language sector – an increase of €14.8m on the initial 2020 allocation. This includes a range of supports for agencies and language schemes and other funds to help protect companies from the full impacts of Brexit and COVID-19.

The Minister of State will outline more on this shortly and for Sport.

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We are indeed living through what is the worst pandemic in a century. But we must build a stronger country, be resilient and stand by our very sectors that have produced success, talent and given us inspiration in previous recessions. I hope my department’s measures will build a bridge into 2021 and beyond, as part of a recovery, as part of a future that overcomes the virus. And then those sectors, if supported, will bounce back. Go raibh maith agat.