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The Department for Communities has announced £10m of funding for the arts and creative sector.

Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey said the money will help stabilise the sector which has been "disproportionately impacted" by the pandemic.

She said the financial support was also vital to preventing the closure of many organisations.

It will benefit 168 arts and cultural organisations across NI.

The minister added that the funding will "eliminate deficits" that organisations have accumulated from 1 April 2020 due to a reductions in income, coupled with "unavoidable ongoing costs".

"The arts and creative industries have an important role to play in helping us all emerge from this pandemic, and this support is designed to stabilise organisations until they can reopen and resume delivering their important benefits to our community" added Ms Hargey.

The funding is part of the Department for Communities' Covid-19 Culture, Languages, Arts and Heritage Support Programme.

It is being awarded to those individuals who are self-employed and is being delivered by the Arts Council on the Department for Communities' behalf.

In October The Arts Council received an indicative budget of £7.75m for the Stability and Renewal Programme for Organisations.