Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Department overview
Formed	8 July 1977
Jurisdiction	Ireland
Headquarters	23 Kildare Street, Dublin 2 53°20′24″N 6°15′21″W / 53.34°N 6.25583°W / 53.34; -6.25583
Minister responsible	Jimmy Deenihan, TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Department executive	Con Haugh, Secretary General
Website
www.ahg.gov.ie/en/

The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Irish: An Roinn Ealaíon, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta) is a department of the Government of Ireland. The mission of the department is to contribute to the economic, social and cultural progress of Irish society and the enrichment of its quality of life through promoting sustainable tourism; encouraging excellence in sporting and artistic achievement; facilitating greater access to sport and the arts; and preservation of Ireland's cultural inheritance. It is led by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht who is assisted by one Minister of State.

Departmental team

The official headquarters and Ministerial offices of the department are at 23 Kildare Street, Dublin 2. The department also has offices in South Frederick Street in Dublin and in New Road, Killarney, County Kerry. The departmental team consists of the following:

• Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Jimmy Deenihan, TD
  • Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs: Dinny McGinley, TD

• Secretary General of the Department: Con Haugh

Overview

In carrying out its mandate the department undertakes a variety of functions including:

• formulation, development and evaluation of policy and structures to promote and foster the practice and appreciation of the creative and interpretative arts and to encourage the development of the Irish film industry
• enabling the national cultural institutions to preserve and protect Ireland's moveable heritage and cultural assets
• formulation, development and evaluation of sport policy
• overseeing major sports projects
• facilitating the continued development by the tourism industry of an economic and environmentally sustainable and spatially balanced tourism sector
• creating an environment enabling the National Cultural Institutions to flourish through the provision of financial resources and an appropriate policy framework

The Department is responsible for funding important Irish cultural institutions like

• National Gallery of Ireland
• National Library of Ireland
• National Museum of Ireland

and organisations such as:

• Culture Ireland
• Arts Council of Ireland (which also acts as the "Cultural Contact Point" to access EU cultural programme funding)
• Heritage Council

History

The Minister for Economic Planning and Development was created by the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 1977. The title was renamed Minister for Energy by order in 1980 and again in 1993 the title changed to Minister for Tourism and Trade. Several more title changes occurred, the current title was created on 23 March 2010.

Over the years its name has changed several times, however, the role of the department has remained the same. The department has been known as the following:

• Department of Economic Planning and Development (1977–1980)
• Department of Energy (1980–1981)
• Department of Industry and Energy (1981–1983)
• Department of Energy (1983–1993)
• Department of Tourism and Trade (1993–1997)
• Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation (1997–2002)
• Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism (2002–2010)
• Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport (2010–2011)
• Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2011–present)

External links

• Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht