Minister Catherine Martin announces additional €10.5m for BAI to fund climate action, live music and Irish language broadcasting

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD (pictured right above), has announced an additional €10.5m to fund the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland’s (BAI) 2022 Sound and Vision scheme. The additional funding includes €2million for live music-related programming.

"I am delighted to allocate this funding for live music broadcasting projects," Minister Martin said. "Last year, additional funding of €1.4m which I provided to the BAI supported eight exciting live music projects, such as Irish Music Month and the New Local Hero award.

"I look forward to many more such exciting projects being developed this year through the support I am announcing today.” Minister Martin said. “Music is very important to me personally and to the Irish people, and it is essential that we give musicians every opportunity to perform for an audience. Notwithstanding the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, the continued support of Government to this sector is vital as it journeys through these difficult times. This additional funding complements the €50m support package for the Live Performance sector in general, which I announced in December last year.”

Irish Music Month and A New Local Hero are projects created by Hot Press, and run in partnership with Independent Broadcasters of Ireland (the IBI) across 25 independent radio stations.

The biggest slice of the new funding will be devoted to programming which aims to raise awareness of issues surrounding climate change.

As part of 2021's Climate Action Plan, the Irish Government committed to the support of media content development which both raises awareness of climate change and promotes action to combat it. €5 million of this new funding will targeted at this vitally important area.

“Tackling climate change has always been a top priority for me and I am proud to fulfil this Climate Action Plan 2021 commitment," says Minister Martin. "Sound and Vision funding will create programming that improves climate literacy and promotes climate change mitigation. It is essential that we inform people of the threats posed by climate change and bring people on board with measures to tackle it. This Sound and Vision programming will show people what is happening to our climate and how to stop it.”

The funds include a €2.5m contribution, approved by the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan (pictured above with Catherine Martin). “To achieve our climate ambitions," Minister Ryan says, "we will all need to change how we work; heat our homes; travel; consume goods and services; and manage our waste. By improving climate literacy, we will enable people to make changes in their daily lives and engage with climate action at a local and national level.

“I am delighted that my Department is contributing €2.5m to the funding of this special climate round of the Sound & Vision Scheme. Through the expertise of the BAI, and the vision of Ireland’s programme-makers, we can ensure a range of innovative and creative programming to bring climate awareness, literacy, and empowerment into homes across the country.”

A further €2m, administered through Sound & Vision, will support the broadcast of additional Irish language content. This will help to fulfil the Programme for Government’s commitment to the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language. The supplementary funding will also enable the BAI to allot an additional €1.5m to general projects under Round 42 of Sound and Vision.

“I have always been a strong champion of the Irish language," Minister Martin says. "In last October’s budget, I secured an extra €4.2m for TG4, the largest ever single increase in the broadcaster’s history, and the government also provided another €1m for Irish language content production in Northern Ireland.

"I am delighted to be able to allocate a further €2m to create high quality Irish language programming through the Sound and Vision scheme, and I look forward to watching and listening to the content this extra funding will deliver.”