Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
Encyclopedia
The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) (Irish
: An Roinn Cultúir, Ealaíon agus Fóillíochta, Ulster Scots: Männystrie o Fowkgates, Airts an Aisedom) is a devolved
Northern Irish
government department in the Northern Ireland Executive
. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure.
The incumbent Minister is Carál Ní Chuilín
(Sinn Féin
). The Minister is, by virtue of office, the Keeper of the Records for Northern Ireland.
Some cultural matters are reserved to Westminster and are therefore not devolved:
DCAL’s main counterparts in the United Kingdom Government are:
Its main counterparts in the Irish Government
are:
on 23 May 1998 and the granting of Royal Assent
to the Northern Ireland Act 1998
on 19 November 1998, a Northern Ireland Assembly
and Northern Ireland Executive
were established by the United Kingdom government
under Prime Minister
Tony Blair
. The process was known as devolution
and was set up to return devolved legislative powers to Northern Ireland. DCAL is one of 11 devolved Northern Ireland departments created in December 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act 1998
and The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999
.
A devolved minister first took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for four periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of direct rule
ministers from the Northern Ireland Office
:
Since 8 May 2007, devolution has operated without interruption.
were responsible for the department:
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
: An Roinn Cultúir, Ealaíon agus Fóillíochta, Ulster Scots: Männystrie o Fowkgates, Airts an Aisedom) is a devolved
Devolution in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, devolution refers to the statutory granting of powers from the Parliament of the United Kingdom to the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly and to their associated executive bodies the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government...
Northern Irish
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
government department in the Northern Ireland Executive
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...
. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure.
Aim
DCAL’s overall vision is a “confident, creative, informed and healthy society”. It describes its mission as delivering economic growth and enhancing the quality of life in Northern Ireland by "unlocking the full potential of the culture, arts and leisure sectors."The incumbent Minister is Carál Ní Chuilín
Carál Ní Chuilín
Carál Ní Chuilín, MLA is an Irish politician in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She was elected in 2007 to the Northern Ireland Assembly as a Sinn Féin member for North Belfast...
(Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
). The Minister is, by virtue of office, the Keeper of the Records for Northern Ireland.
Responsibilities
The department has the following main responsibilities:- the arts
- cultural diversity
- inland waterways
- languages
- libraries
- lottery funding distribution
- museums
- the Public Record Office of Northern IrelandPublic Record Office of Northern IrelandThe Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a division within the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure ....
(PRONI); - sport
Some cultural matters are reserved to Westminster and are therefore not devolved:
- intellectual propertyIntellectual propertyIntellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
- broadcastingBroadcastingBroadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
- the National LotteryNational Lottery (United Kingdom)The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
DCAL’s main counterparts in the United Kingdom Government are:
- the Department for Culture, Media and SportDepartment for Culture, Media and SportThe Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, such as broadcasting and internet....
(DCMS); - the Department for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsThe Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...
(on inland fisheries); - the National Archives (on public records).
Its main counterparts in the Irish Government
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...
are:
- the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport;
- the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (on public libraries);
- the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs (on the Irish language);
- the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (on inland fisheries).
History
Following a referendum on the Belfast AgreementBelfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...
on 23 May 1998 and the granting of Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
to the Northern Ireland Act 1998
Northern Ireland Act 1998
The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established a devolved legislature for Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Assembly, after decades of direct rule from Westminster....
on 19 November 1998, a Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
and Northern Ireland Executive
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...
were established by the United Kingdom government
Government of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
under Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. The process was known as devolution
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
and was set up to return devolved legislative powers to Northern Ireland. DCAL is one of 11 devolved Northern Ireland departments created in December 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act 1998
Northern Ireland Act 1998
The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established a devolved legislature for Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Assembly, after decades of direct rule from Westminster....
and The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999
The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999
The Departments Order 1999 set out new devolved Northern Ireland government departments and the Northern Ireland Executive.-Departments created:The Departments Order 1999 created the following departments:...
.
A devolved minister first took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for four periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of direct rule
Direct Rule
Direct rule was the term given, during the late 20th and early 21st centuries, to the administration of Northern Ireland directly from Westminster, seat of United Kingdom government...
ministers from the Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...
:
- between 12 February 2000 and 30 May 2000;
- on 11 August 2001 ;
- on 22 September 2001 ;
- between 15 October 2002 and 8 May 2007.
Since 8 May 2007, devolution has operated without interruption.
Ministers of Culture, Arts and Leisure
| Minister | Party | Took office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael McGimpsey Michael McGimpsey Michael McGimpsey MLA is an Ulster Unionist Party Member of the Legislative Assembly for Belfast South who has twice served in the Northern Ireland Executive... |
2 December 1999 | 11 February 2000 | ||
| Office suspended | ||||
| Michael McGimpsey Michael McGimpsey Michael McGimpsey MLA is an Ulster Unionist Party Member of the Legislative Assembly for Belfast South who has twice served in the Northern Ireland Executive... |
30 May 2000 | 14 October 2002 | ||
| Office suspended | ||||
| Edwin Poots Edwin Poots Alderman Edwin Poots MLA is a Northern Irish politician and a Democratic Unionist Party Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lagan Valley. He is one of three DUP MLAs for Lagan Valley.-Biography:... |
8 May 2007 | 9 June 2008 | ||
| Gregory Campbell Gregory Campbell (politician) Gregory Lloyd Campbell is a Northern Irish unionist politician, and the Democratic Unionist Party Member of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, representing the East Londonderry constituency of Northern Ireland.... |
9 June 2008 | 1 July 2009 | ||
| Nelson McCausland Nelson McCausland Nelson McCausland, MLA is a unionist politician from Northern Ireland. He is the current Minister for Social Development in the Northern Irish Government.-Education:... |
1 July 2009 | 5 May 2011 | ||
| Carál Ní Chuilín Carál Ní Chuilín Carál Ní Chuilín, MLA is an Irish politician in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She was elected in 2007 to the Northern Ireland Assembly as a Sinn Féin member for North Belfast... |
16 May 2011 | |||
Direct rule ministers
During the periods of suspension, the following ministers of the Northern Ireland OfficeNorthern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...
were responsible for the department:
- George HowarthGeorge HowarthGeorge Edward Howarth is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Knowsley North from 1986 until 1997, and since then for its replacement Knowsley North and Sefton East....
(2000) - Angela SmithAngela Evans SmithAngela Evans Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon is a British Labour Co-operative politician who was the Member of Parliament for Basildon from 1997 till she was defeated in 2010...
(2002–05) - David HansonDavid Hanson (politician)David George Hanson is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Delyn since 1992. He was the Minister of State for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing from 2009 to 2010...
(2005–06) - Maria EagleMaria EagleMaria Eagle is a British solicitor and Labour Party politician. She is the Member of Parliament for Garston and Halewood, having been the MP for Liverpool Garston from 1997 to 2010....
(2006–07)