Brian Stanley Urges Simpler Funding for Homecoming Festivals

In relation to funding, to consider funding for homecoming festivals in various locations around the country, to try and promote tourism and to increase investment, particularly in rural areas, and just what your opinion is on it and what supports can be provided, Minister. Minister. Thank you, Chair. I thank Deputy Stanley for his question. My department implements a wide range of schemes and supports available to community organisations and groups across the country. While my department does not have a scheme specifically for community or homecoming festivals, there may be an avenue to support under the LEADER programme or potentially the Local Enhancement Programme. In respect of the LEADER programme, in line with the Programme for Government, LEADER has a strong focus on rural tourism, and funding has been made available under the Programme for Festivals and Local Tourism Initiatives. For example, I'm sure the Deputy is well aware of the old Fort Quarter Festival, which has run very successfully in Port Leach in recent years, that has received funding from LEADER. In order for a project to be eligible for LEADER funding, the proposed activity must be compatible with the actions outlined in the approved LEADER local development strategy. It must comply with the EU regulations and operating rules. The programme is administered by the local action groups across the country. Prospective applicants organising festivals should contract the relevant LEADER. Moving to the Local Enhancement Programme, which is run under myself and Minister Buttermer. This programme provides small capital grants to community and voluntary groups to improve facilities or purchase equipment. This may support groups that help run local festivals. We are currently finalising the Local Enhancement Programme for 2026, and we will be announcing details of the new programme imminently. Mr. Minister, the last couple of sentences is timely, obviously, what you said in relation to finalising plans for 2026. Look, it's a great way of improving tourism and visitor numbers. Tourism figures, as we all know, are down this year. There are various reasons for that. Some of it is high prices being charged by some hotels and overpricing. And obviously, the industry has to take that on board. But the first one was organised and leashed this year, and it's a huge success. The 4th, 5th and 6th of September. There's a lot of voluntary work and commitment going into these. And I just think that it's an area that we need to maybe target in terms of being of benefit, in terms of economic benefits and tourism benefits, but also for community and family benefits, because I think those people who met each other, people who hadn't seen each other for 50 years, in some cases, they met each other for the first time again. I think what I would say to you is the route to securing funding needs to be simple. I take on board the Leader, but that programme tends to be set. You know, there's a lot of calls on that. I think it's a separate stream of funding that needs to be made available for this. Minister. I absolutely appreciate the role of any festival or any gathering in any rural community. That's why we support the rural shows to the extent of a million euro, right across the country, over 130 of them. Folkshire Ireland are the predominant domestic tourism development agency. They have a range of schemes in place for supporting local festivals, local community events, as do the local authorities. As I said, Leader do support festivals. You mentioned the one in Port Leash. There's also one in Balmackill, in Cullohill, and in Spink, as well, across your own county. So Leader have a very good track record of supporting festivals across County Leash. And I know there are a number of local authorities around the country who provide current funding for festivals in local areas as well. We're more than happy to assist in terms of capital funding through the Leader Programme. But as of now, I have no plans for, given the existing level of support, that's there through Folkshire Ireland, that's there through other organisations, I have no plans to look at that at the point at this point. Thanks, Minister, for your reply. And I acknowledge the support I was given to the Old Ford Festival and the other projects in Leash through the Leader Fund, and I accept that. I think the key thing is that the information, sometimes the information in terms of what's available and where, is one of the issues. But also I would say to you is that bureaucracy, and some of it's necessary, and it's important that money is accounted for properly, and things are done the right way. But I think we need to try and streamline the, there can be a multitude of places to go for funding, but it sometimes can be a fog. And I just think that needs to be kept very simple, very straightforward. And maybe something from your department, maybe saying this is what's available, you know, I mean, you mentioned a lot of different avenues there. I think information is key as well for local communities in terms of trying to, you know, find where to go with it. Thanks. Minister. Absolutely, Deputy. We do try to provide that information, but it's something that's coming back to me a good bit. So we're going to try and look at a one-stop shop for that information. I particularly acknowledge that it's volunteers that predominantly organise these festivals, people who are very busy in their lives elsewhere and probably involved in multiple other organisations in their community at the same time. So certainly what we will do is to try and ensure we have a one-stop shop in terms of providing the information. And I do want to bring every deputy's attention here this morning to we are finalising the current consultation on our rural future, which is our scaffolding document for rural policy. The final date for submissions is the 12th of December, which is tomorrow week. And I'd encourage all deputies to look at the current draft to input into that review. And if there are suggestions or proposals similar to those that you have, Deputy, every deputy should try and make those and we will incorporate the views of the Oireachtas into the document. That is the document, that is the scaffolding document on which we build projects and which we build funding programmes over the course of the next five years. Thank you, Deputy. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.