Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, has announced €10.5m in additional funding for the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland’s (BAI ) Sound and Vision scheme in 2022.
A sum totalling €2m is being provided under the Sound and Vision scheme to support live music broadcasting projects.
Minister Martin said she is delighted to allocate this funding for live music broadcasting projects.
"Last year, additional funding of €1.4m which I provided to the BAI supported 8 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.
“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," Deputy Martin stated.
Of the funding announced yesterday, €2m will be allocated to Irish Language content production this year. This will help fulfil the Programme for Government’s commitment to Irish and the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language.
This new funding will enable the BAI to initiate a special €5m round for broadcasting projects which will raise awareness of climate change, promote climate action and support behavioural change. It includes €2.5m approved by the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan.
In addition, the Minister has asked the BAI to ring-fence €2m for live music broadcasting projects, and a further €2m for Irish language broadcasting content. The additional funding provided by the Minister also enabled the BAI to allocate an extra €1.5m to projects under Round 42 of Sound and Vision.
As part of the Climate Action Plan 2021, the Government committed to supporting the development of media content which raises awareness of climate change, and promotes action and behavioural change to combat it. As such, €5m is now being provided to the BAI for a Sound and Vision round to support the development of such content and programming. This is being co-funded by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
Speaking upon the announcement, Minister Martin said that tackling climate change has always been a top priority for me and I am proud to fulfil this Climate Action Plan 2021 commitment. 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," Deputy Martin asserted.
In welcoming the BAI’s agreement to the ring-fencing of this funding, Minister Martin said she has always been a strong champion of the Irish language. 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," Deputy Martin concluded.
