2026-03-03

137. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he will consider establishing and funding a dedicated Irish town of culture programme to support local creative initiatives and community-based cultural development in Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16277/26]

Will the Minister consider establishing and funding a dedicated Irish town of culture programme to support towns such as Drogheda and Ardee with strong cultural identities and significant heritage assets? This would be particularly relevant for Drogheda, which has a rich artistic community and a deep historical footprint.

As outlined in the programme for Government, the Government believes that culture and the arts are essential to a well-rounded society, providing opportunities for education, expression and community engagement. The programme sets out an ambitious range of measures encompassing support for professional arts practice, investment in our national cultural institutions, the promotion of the arts internationally, preservation and presentation of our national cultural heritage, as well as deepening cultural connections across the island of Ireland. It also builds on the emerging consensus in the Oireachtas for an enhanced focus on regional balance and opportunities for participation by all. It must be understood that this is a five-year programme and not intended to be delivered in one year. Significant progress has been made in the past 12 months, with the permanent basic income for the arts scheme, works on major refurbishment of the Crawford Arts Gallery now commenced, and the exciting announcement regarding the philanthropic donation of a major facility in Limerick for a branch of the National Museum of Ireland. A network of cultural infrastructure exists throughout the country, with the majority in the ownership of local authorities. Annual support, including programming and revenue supports, is provided to the arts by local authorities and the Arts Council. I am informed that in County Louth in 2025, the Arts Council made grants under the arts centre funding scheme totalling €440,000 to the Droichead Arts Centre in Drogheda and An Táin in Dundalk. In budget 2026, my Department was allocated €6 million for a new programme of capital funding for the arts and cultural organisations across the country, in line with the commitment in the programme for Government. This will see much needed supports for arts and culture organisations. In relation to the proposal for a dedicated Irish town of culture programme, I am in favour of examining options that further promote local cultural activity and celebrate the unique and creative strength of towns and communities. I have asked the Department to commence consideration of the proposed measure to ensure alignment with existing cultural schemes and national culture policy, and to assess resource requirements in the context of the budget process. While yet to be decided, I envisage that a town of culture designation would involve a competition.

I thank the Minister. I am delighted to hear he is in favour of such a programme. Drogheda is a cultural powerhouse in the north east. It is home to festivals like the Drogheda Arts Festival, the Drogheda classical musical series and the Lú festival. It provides entertainment for locals but it is also a calling card for people from outside Drogheda and County Louth to visit the town. Like many Irish towns that have strong cultural identities, Drogheda tends to fall between the cracks of existing schemes and therefore sustainable funding models are always in short supply. As the Minister is in favour of a town of culture programme, I know he will be well aware that establishing a town of culture would bring benefits beyond the boundaries of the county. It would help employment, increase tourism and deepen our understanding of our culture and heritage.

Deputy Butterly will be glad to hear that, over the last couple of weeks, I have been dealing with a town of culture initiative in the Department. We are at a preliminary stage of drawing up what it would look like and how we would award it. I envisage a competitive process through the local authorities, with local authorities putting forward nominees to be the town of culture for a fixed period of time. From that, supports would be able to be derived from the Department. I also envisage that the town of culture designation would not be for one year, but for multiple years, because of the size of the Department. The Deputy also made a very interesting point that in order to have legacy, the designation will be needed for more than one year. We are at a very early stage. As recently as this week, I asked for resources in the Department to be assigned to the design of a scheme. That will ultimately be a competitive process. I am sure every local authority in the country, including Louth County Council, will have great ideas as to how they imagine this would be best represented in their area.

I tend to agree with the Minister. A few years ago, Drogheda had the fleadh for two years, during which it brought great short-term benefit to the town. I agree with the Minister that this designation would have to develop over a three- or five-year period in order to have a long-lasting impact on the town. Where I may disagree with the Minister is in terms of the competition among local authorities. I advocate having a pilot programme in a pilot town. Obviously, at the top of that list would be Drogheda, followed by Ardee, County Louth.

I am sure the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, Deputy Keira Keogh, would have something different to say for Mayo, Westport, Castlebar and Ballina, as others would for all stations between Mayo and Dublin. I know Deputy Butterly is a strong advocate for the County Louth towns. Why would she not be? However, we will have to have a competitive process. I envisage it will involve the local authorities being asked to put forward proposals, which will have to be independently assessed and verified. Obvious, the winners will be delighted and the unsuccessful will use freedom of information those, or FOI - our three favourite letters - to find out how the scheme was awarded and everything else. I intend putting a substantial amount of money behind this and I also intend to have the designation over multiple years in order that it will be legacy. No more than the European capital of culture, the Irish town of culture will be an exciting initiative for towns all over the country. With their local authorities, they will be able to compete for a title that will have an all-Ireland dimension to it. It will be welcomed by the local authorities and the towns that are prepared to participate.