Vol. 455 No. 5
3 Miss Quill asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht his views on the assessment of the current state of art organisations in Ireland as outlined in the Arts Plan executive summary stating that most organisations are stretched to the limits of their capacity, both in resource and human terms, and staying afloat only by personnel accepting lower salaries, relying on FÁS schemes and otherwise cutting corners. [4685/95]
I agree generally with the assessment of the current state of arts organisations in Ireland, as outlined in paragraph 3.3.4 of the executive summary of "The Arts Plan 1995-97". I expect that implementation of the measures identified in the plan will over time ensure that professional arts organisations have appropriate levels of properly remunerated management.
Would the Minister accept that the picture as painted by the Arts Council in its three-year plan of most art organisations staying afloat only by personnel accepting lower salaries, relying on FÁS schemes and otherwise cutting corners paints a grim picture for the future? Would the Minister also accept that in this year alone there has been a significant reduction in the number of FÁS workers available generally throughout the country? If that reduction were to be applied to the arts centres, would he accept that the whole art edifice would fall like a house of cards?
I will be as forthright as I can on these points. There has been a massive explosion of interest in arts activity. It is also true to say that many of the arts organisations did not receive adequate provisions in the past. This year the Arts Council will receive £16.25 million. It was £10.1 million when I became Minister. We are dealing with a pent up demand and conditions of work which I recognise are not acceptable. We have to move towards an improvement in that.
An Chomhairle Ealaíon did provide a once off grant in 1994 of £100,000 to improve professional arts organisations. In addition to that, there was a survey of the management needs of the cultural industries and arts sector. Both of these indicate a desire to get to a point where one would have good management in proper employment conditions. The study to which I refer was a joint study with Northern Ireland of management in the cultural sector and was published in November 1994.
I acknowledge the role of FÁS in providing resources for the arts and cultural sector; without it, it would be 30 per cent or 40 per cent less. My Department, among others, gave up resources earlier this year to ensure that the FÁS schemes could continue. While I acknowledge the role of FÁS, I also acknowledge that proper planning for the arts and good management in the arts organisations mean that we should not rely on FÁS, but that we should look at proper management structures with employment which is funded by regular arts provisions.
We will continue to rely on FÁS. Has the Minister had any discussions with his Cabinet colleagues about continuing such FÁS schemes which supply the majority of workers to art centres and organisations, even as an interim measure until such time as a better structure is put in place for long term and permanent jobs in art centres? As the Minister knows, the majority of jobs in art centres are not permanent.
I should reply in the same spirit in which supplementary questions are put to me. I refuse to take responsibility for the neglect of previous Administrations, including the one in which the Deputy's party participated, to make provision for the arts. However, I accept responsibility for doing something. I have had discussions with my colleagues, including the Minister responsible for FÁS. I will continue to do the best I can in terms of moving to a regular and normal set of provisions, including employment provisions for the arts. That is the way it should be. However, sometimes one gets the impression that these problems have only arisen now; they have been there for years. It is to the indictment of all those who have been responsible for this area over a long period that they did not look at these problems. I am looking at them and changing the scheme and that is why there has been a 60 per cent increase in the provision for the Arts Council, which did not feature in the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Government.
While I appreciate what the Minister has said, I ask him to concentrate on the evidence in a recently published plan which shows that the situation is more grim than was realised or catered for in the past. I am not asking him what happened in previous years but what will happen this year and next year. If the Government continues to reduce the number of FÁS workers available throughout the country, he must be prepared to take steps to ensure that art centres will not be the first victims of such reductions, even as a short term measure. We will return to the issue of long term employment in art centres at a later date.
The administration of FÁS schemes is the responsibility of another Minister.
As regards FÁS activity in the arts sector, I knew the situation was grim a long time ago. However, it will not be grim in the future because things will get better. My Department, among others, gave up resources to keep the number of FÁS people working in schemes, including those in the arts and cultural sector. I realised that when I gave up resources for my Department. I will keep it under review. However, we should realise that the arts plan, which has the support of all the parties in this House in terms of its implementation, will mean a planned regime which will be more regular. A component of that is a provision for regular employment and good management structures, towards which I am aiming.
