The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), translated in
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
as and in
Ulster-Scots as , was a
devolved
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
department in the
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ...
. The minister with overall responsibility for the department was the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure.
After the
election to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2016
The 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016. It was the fifth election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. 1,281,595 individuals were registered to vote in the election (representing ...
, the DCAL was closed and its roles and functions were amalgamated with other departments in order to reduce the size of the Northern Ireland Executive.
Aim
DCAL's overall vision was a "confident, creative, informed and healthy society". It described 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 last Minister was
Carál Ní Chuilín
Carál Ní Chuilín (; born 18 December 1964), formerly known as Caroline Cullen, is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and former Provisional IRA member. She has been a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast North since 2007 and serv ...
(
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
). The Minister was, by virtue of office, the Keeper of the Records for Northern Ireland.
Responsibilities
The department had the following main responsibilities:
*architecture;
*the arts;
*
cultural diversity
Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural evolution. The term "cultural diversity" can also refer to having different c ...
;
*inland waterways;
*languages;
*libraries;
*the distribution of
National Lottery funding;
*museums;
*the
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a division within the Engaged Communities Group of the Department for Communities (DfC).
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is disti ...
(PRONI); and
*sport.
Broadcasting, intellectual property and the administration of the
National Lottery are
reserved
Reserved is a Polish apparel retailer headquartered in Gdańsk, Pomerania, Poland. It was founded in 1999 and remains the largest company of the LPP group, which has more than 1,700 retail stores located in over 20 countries and also owns such ...
to Westminster and are therefore not devolved.
DCAL's main counterparts in the
United Kingdom Government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
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, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
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, caption = Royal Arms
, date_est ...
were:
*the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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(DCMS);
*the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (on inland fisheries); and
*the
National Archives (on public records).
Its main counterparts in the
Irish Government were:
*the
Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media ( ga, An Roinn Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus Meán) is a department of the Government of Ireland. The mission of the department is to promote a ...
(on the Irish language);
*the
Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage ( ga, An Roinn Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitiúil agus Oidhreachta) is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage who is ...
(on public libraries);
*the
Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
The Department of Transport ( ga, An Roinn Iompair) is a department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for transport policy and overseeing transport services and infrastructure. The department is led by the Minister for Transport ...
;
*the
Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (on inland fisheries).
History
Following a
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
on the
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...
on 23 May 1998 and the granting of
royal assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...
to the
Northern Ireland Act 1998
__NOTOC__
The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed Westminster to devolve power to Northern Ireland, after decades of direct rule.
It renamed the New Northern Ireland Assembly, established b ...
on 19 November 1998, a
Northern Ireland Assembly and
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ...
were established by the
United Kingdom Government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_est ...
under Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
. The process was known as
devolution and was set up to return devolved legislative powers to Northern Ireland. DCAL was one of five new devolved Northern Ireland departments created in December 1999 by the
Northern Ireland Act 1998
__NOTOC__
The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed Westminster to devolve power to Northern Ireland, after decades of direct rule.
It renamed the New Northern Ireland Assembly, established b ...
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
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...
:
* between 12 February 2000 and 30 May 2000;
* on 11 August 2001;
* on 22 September 2001;
* between 15 October 2002 and 8 May 2007.
Under the
St Andrews Agreement
The St Andrews Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Chill Rímhinn; Ulster Scots: ''St Andra's 'Greement'', ''St Andrew's Greeance'' or ''St Andrae's Greeance'') is an agreement between the British and Irish governments and Northern Ireland's politica ...
(signed 13 October 2006), the Executive is obliged to adopt strategies on enhancing and protecting the development of the
Irish language
Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
and enhancing and developing
Ulster Scots language, heritage and culture. The agreement also committed the
United Kingdom Government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_est ...
to introducing "an Irish Language Act reflecting on the experience of Wales and Ireland".
Welsh and Irish are official languages in those respective countries.
Language policy was devolved, alongside the department's other responsibilities, on 8 May 2007. As of March 2012, neither an Irish language strategy or act, nor an Ulster Scots strategy, had been adopted. The department stated that a ''Strategy for Indigenous or Regional Minority Languages'' would "be presented to the Executive in due course".
Ministers of Culture, Arts and Leisure
Direct rule ministers
During the periods of suspension, the following ministers of the
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...
were responsible for the department:
*
George Howarth MP (2000)
*
Angela Smith MP (2002–2005)
*
David Hanson MP (2005–2006)
*
Maria Eagle MP (2006–2007)
See also
*
Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure
The Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure was established to advise and assist the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, on matters within his responsibility as a minister. The committee undertook a scrutiny, policy development and consultati ...
(
Northern Ireland Assembly)
*
List of government ministers in Northern Ireland
References
External links
DCAL
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Department Of Culture, Arts And Leisure
Northern Ireland Executive
Culture of Northern Ireland
Culture ministries
1999 establishments in Northern Ireland
2016 disestablishments in Northern Ireland