The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne TD, and the Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, Patrick O’Donovan TD have announced €1,171,176,000 of gross funding allocated to their departments in Budget 2024.

The ministers announced record funding of €134m for the Arts Council and the highest level of funding for Culture Ireland since its establishment.

A new pilot scheme for Arts, Culture and the Night time Economy was announced, with the aim of continuing the development of late night arts and culture scenes in Irish cities.

There will be an increase in funding of €1.5m for Screen Ireland, while changes to Section 481 tax relief aims to “further enhance” Ireland’s attractiveness as a filming location for international films, as well increased funding for the Safe to Create Programme.

“Budget 2024 maintains and increases funding across a wide range of key initiatives,” said Minister Martin. “Our support for artists and arts workers continues, with increased funding for the Arts Council and Culture Ireland, as well as ongoing support for Creative Ireland and the Basic Income for the Arts Pilot Research Scheme.”

#Budget2024 further incentivises donation of cultural items to strengthen our national collections

The tax relief on donations will increase from €6m to €8m

This is something we've been working on @DeptCultureIRL for some time

Great to announce it today pic.twitter.com/K0RZ9dwpGv

— Catherine Martin TD (@cathmartingreen) October 10, 2023

“Budget 2024 marks a step change in funding for the Women in Sport programme”, added  Minister Byrne.

The department has announced increased funding for elite high-performance athletes ahead of the Summer Games in Paris in 2024, a doubling of funding for Women in Sport, along with a €2m increase in core funding for sporting bodies and further investment in support for projects such as the Ryder Cup 2027 and UEFA Euro 2028.

In relation to tourism, there will be an additional €10m for overseas marketing of Ireland as a holiday destination, an investment of overseas marketing of Ireland as a holiday destination and an investment of €5m in sustainable tourism.

 The ministers pledged to support the Irish Language with funding of €500,000 from the Department’s Gaeltacht Support Schemes to enable young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to experience Gaeltacht summer college courses.

An additional €500,000 to further support the full and successful implementation of the Official Languages Acts 2003 to 2021 was also announced.

“The increase in funding for the implementation of the Official Languages Acts 2003 to 2021 will  go a long way towards increasing the Irish language customer experience, empowering Irish speakers to use the language in all aspects of their daily life,” said Minister O’Donovan.

The media sector will also receive additional subsidies - with TG4 set to have an increase in funding by €4.8m. 

A further €6m will be provided for the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme and the Courts Reporting Scheme, which enables media outlets to provide enhanced coverage of issues of concern to local communities.

Finally, in light of the controversy surrounding the RTÉ scandal, there will be €16m of interim funding for the national broadcaster, with the provision of any additional funding in light of the decline in TV licence revenues to be addressed post-Budget and following submission of a new strategic vision by RTÉ.