Creative Communities > Culture and Devolution > Northern Ireland – Culture and Devolution

Northern Ireland – Culture and Devolution

Culture Devolution:

UK Parliament  transferred legislative and executive powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive under the 1998 Belfast Agreement or Good Friday Agreement. The Agreement and the subsequent Northern Ireland Act 1998 (as amended a number of times since 1998, particularly following the 2006 St Andrews Agreement) continue to form the basis of the constitutional structure in Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Assembly has full legislative powers over a range of devolved matters including culture: this includes Arts Council Northern Ireland, Libraries NI, National Museums Northern Ireland and the NI Museums Council, Arts infrastructure and strategy, the creative industries, community festivals, architecture and built environment, the development and delivery of an Irish Language Strategy and an Ulster-Scots Language, Heritage and Culture Strategy.

Autumn 2024 Budget:

The Northern Ireland Executive is receiving £18.2 billion in 2025-26. This includes an additional: £1.5 billion through the operation of the Barnett formula, with £1.2 billion resource and £270 million capital; £760 million targeted funding, with £670 million resource and £90 million capital, including for the 2024 restoration financial package, historic funding packages, and additional security funding.

A needs-based factor of 24% for the Northern Ireland Executive has been applied to the Barnett formula for 2025-26. All devolved governments receive over 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government funding in the rest of the UK, and the Northern Ireland Executive (including the 2024 restoration financial package) is funded above independently assessed relative need.

It is for the devolved governments to allocate their Barnett-based funding as they see fit in devolved areas, and additional funding will enable further investment in areas such as schools, housing, health and social care, and transport.

Culture Strategy:

The Heritage, Culture and Creativity programme is a new approach for 2024, to provide a comprehensive collection of culture-related policies in Northern Ireland.

  • This programme will address actions to conserve, protect and promote cultural heritage and historic environment; and to encourage, support and develop the curiosity, active engagement and creativity it helps to inspire particularly through the arts.
  • This build on the work undertaken by the Culture, Arts and Heritage Taskforce and expand its focus to include the review and refreshment of policies on public libraries and of museums.
  • Common themes will be brought together through a collated action-planning model.

The Department for Communities is developing an Ulster-Scots Language, Heritage and Culture Strategy and Irish Language Strategy, to set long-term goals for the languages in Northern Ireland over the next 20 years.

Current Culture Projects:

  • 88 arts organisations will benefit from a public investment of approximately £13.2m for 2024-25 from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s Annual Funding Programme (AFP). With £8.1m exchequer funding from the Department for Communities allocation, and £5.1m from Arts Council’s National Lottery sources, the total public investment offered is £13.2m.
  • Government investment in the arts in Northern Ireland has fallen over the past decade from £14.1m in 2011 to £9.7m in 2023.
  • A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, filmed on location across Northern Ireland and in Titanic Studios with funding support from Northern Ireland Screen, will generate investment of approximately £30m for the local economy as well as reinforcing Northern Ireland’s position as a premier destination for global film and television projects.
  • Additional funding of £1million will be provided for new books for libraries across Northern Ireland.
  • A public realm project to transform the Harbour Square, Custom House Street, Guildhall Street, Whittaker Street, Foyle Embankment, and riverfront area of the City, is supported by the Department for Communities and Derry City and Strabane District Council. A key element of this project is the installation of the Factory Girls Sculpture, which celebrates local shirt factory workers and the significant role they played in the City and district’s cultural, heritage and economic history.
  • The Government of Ireland’s Shared Island initiative aims to harness the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement to enhance cooperation, connection and mutual understanding and engage with all communities to build consensus around a shared future, working with the Northern Ireland Executive and UK Government to address strategic challenges. In 2023 five new all-island arts investment projects were announced, which are being delivered with a total allocation of €7.4m.

Brought to you by