Arts Council Ireland has launched its new Deis funding scheme under the auspices of its Traditional Arts Initiative 2005-2008. The scheme seeks to encourage and facilitate the traditional arts community to obtain increased funding from the Arts Council, so it is appropriate that ‘deis’ means ‘opportunity’ in Irish. Deis rolls out nationally following a successful 2 week piloting of the scheme over the summer. During the pilot a total of €44,360 was provided for a variety of projects – including funding for dvd recordings for archive purposes; money to enable the compilation of a tune book; and providing assistance with a traditional music project for children. Deis is targeted at groups or individuals whose projects ‘do not fit comfortably within any of the existing Arts Council funding programmes.’ As well as Deis, other schemes specifically aimed at providing support for the traditional arts are in the planning stages. Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O'Donoghue, says, "The Deis scheme is a very worthwhile initiative and will provide a platform for the traditional arts community to develop projects for the further enhancement of traditional arts on the ground…I welcome the steps taken by the Arts Council to put in place a network of Deis advisors around the country to assist people in developing their proposals.” Olive Braiden, Chair of the Arts Council says, “From the beginning it has been the policy of this Council to put the traditional arts at the heart of its work. Under our new policy, we want to encourage the traditional arts community to further develop and sustain its activities. We are delighted that Minister O’Donoghue provided the extra €500,000 to us in June and that is why we have been able to put Deis in place this year - and plan for other funding supports.” Liz Doherty, Traditional Arts Specialist with the Arts Council, noted: “Deis is an inclusive scheme that depends on a pro-active response from the traditional arts community for its success. It is hoped that through this scheme, the Arts Council will get a real sense of what the traditional arts community needs. This will then inform future opportunities for the traditional arts within the Arts Council”. For further information, CLICK HERE