€4m extra to commemorate 1916

The Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht has been given an additional €4m to roll out an "integrated plan" to commemorate 1916.

The allocation is on top of a €22m capital programme announced earlier this year for major commemorative projects in 2015, including a new interpretative centre at the GPO in Dublin.

The department received an budget allocation of €274m for 2015 which, it pointed out, was first increase for current expenditure in six years.

Earlier this week, the 1916 Relatives Association said plans for the commemoration celebrations were a “shambles”, while Sinn Féin accused the Government of “indifference” and a “lack of preparedness” for the centenary of the Easter Rising.

Arts Minister Heather Humphreys said: “Securing significant funding for the Commemorations programme was one of my main aims for this year’s budget. The €4m will support a comprehensive national programme of events to be put in place in the lead-up to 2016, to ensure this critical period in our history is commemorated in an inclusive, appropriate and respectful manner. Now that funding is in place, my priority is to press ahead with widespread consultation on a draft programme of events and activities.”

She said the safeguarded funding for the arts will allow the Arts Council to continue to support arts organisations. This year, the council supported 480 individuals and 470 arts organisations. She was particularly pleased that the minister for finance had signalled his intention to look at ways to further aid the film and TV sector.

“More than 5,000 people are employed in the Irish audio visual sector, which has gained a very strong reputation internationally in recent years,” she said. “Increasing the €50m cap for film tax relief would help to attract more international projects to Ireland and create hundreds of new jobs, and I look forward to pursuing this in more detail with Minister Noonan over the coming year.

“The increase in the threshold for the artists’ tax exemption from €40,000 to €50,000 is a clear recognition of the need to support artists. Artists are the bedrock of our culture and they continue to represent us at home and abroad with great distinction.”