436. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the increased opportunities and additional support and funding that will be available under Creative Europe 2014-2020; the expected economic impact of this initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29819/14]

Creative Europe is the European Commission's framework programme for support for the culture and media sectors. Following on from the previous Culture Programme and MEDIA programmes, Creative Europe, with a budget of €1.46 billion (9% higher than its predecessors), will support:

- Culture sector initiatives, such as those promoting cross-border cooperation, platforms, networking and literary translation;

- Audiovisual sector initiatives, such as those promoting the development, distribution or access to audiovisual works; and

- A cross-sectoral strand, including a financial guarantee facility and transnational policy cooperation.

It is not possible to estimate how much any country will receive from the Creative Europe programme. Periodically, there are calls for proposals from the European Commission seeking applications for support under the programme. The applications are then assessed by an independent body, the Executive Agency for Education, Audiovisual and Culture (EACEA). The decisions on what support is provided are based on the merits of the applications and there is no quota or specific amount allocated to each country. Further information is available from www.creativeeuropeireland.eu, which provides a link to the different information points in Ireland.