Vol. 577 No. 5
6 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he will elaborate on the reasoning behind the decision to advise the Arts Council to set up a special committee on the traditional arts; if consultations were sought on same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31628/03]
11 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the role of the recently announced Special Committee on the Traditional Arts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31564/03]
I propose to answer Questions Nos. 6 and 11 together.
Irish traditional arts are a precious and fundamental part of our national cultural life. In an increasingly uniform world, our arts, like our language, say something special about who we are, where we came from as a people and what distinguishes us and our culture from others in the world. Very many people enjoy the traditional arts, but even those whose taste runs in other directions would say that our distinctive Irish art forms are special, that they are worth protecting and that if we lost them we would be much the poorer.
I am aware of the sense of dissatisfaction that exists within the traditional arts sector with the treatment that the sector has received over the years. Accordingly, I have now set up a special committee on the traditional arts under the Arts Act 2003, as I promised, to examine these issues in detail and to furnish a view to the council by September 2004. The committee's task is to formulate advice to the Arts Council, not to dictate to it.
The special committee system is in my view a well balanced one. The chair, who is selected from the membership of the council, and two ordinary members, are appointed by the Minister of the day, with the remaining two ordinary members appointed by the council itself. The terms of reference for the committee provide that its advice should include specific recommendations regarding the future role of the Arts Council in respect of support for the traditional arts, taking account of existing support systems, facilities and funding programmes for supporting the traditional arts across all Government Departments, non-Governmental agencies and local authorities; the applicability and relevance of the terms ‘amateur', ‘professional' and ‘voluntary' in contemporary practice in traditional arts and, if the committee considers it appropriate, proposals for an effective framework for assessing funding proposals.
This should include a review of whether the position of the traditional arts in the cultural life of the nation is appropriately reflected in the assignments within the council's authorised staffing complement. Proposals must be framed in accordance with the Government's current policy on the need to reduce public service staff numbers.
The Minister will be aware that when the Arts Bill was being debated major reservations were expressed by the arts community on section 21 of the Bill. It is a long time since that flawed Bill was debated but as it has been passed there is nothing we can do. Even though the Minister is passing the issue on to a special committee, there may be some room for him to intervene. What steps will he take to ensure traditional music does not become divided from other sections of the traditional arts? When section 21 was being debated, it was pointed out that if there was a traditional section on one side—
The purpose of Question Time is to elicit information from the Minister. There is a time limit on questions and a number of Deputies wish to offer. The Deputy should confine himself to asking questions.
In regard to both traditional music and the traditional arts, how will the Minister ensure that the sense of unity is restored?
The objective of the amendment to the relevant section of the Arts Act was to ensure there would be no marginalisation or ghettoisation of the traditional arts or any part thereof. This has been achieved by the establishment of a standing committee which will advise the Arts Council. There will be no council within a council. The Arts Council will not be dictated to by me or by the committee.
I am anxious to ensure that we will have a coherent policy for the traditional arts in the future. I have made clear on a number of occasions the importance of the traditional arts remaining within the mainstream of Irish art forms. This is uppermost in the minds of the Arts Council and the committee dealing with the traditional arts. If a coherent policy is formulated arising from the deliberations of the standing committee, which will be of limited duration, we should then try to secure sufficient funding to enable the policy to be given artistic expression.
When the Arts Bill was going through the House, section 21, on which we all received numerous representations, was the part most debated. I happen to agree with the structure the Minister has put in place. It is reflective of what is required to obtain an overall picture of the position of the traditional arts. My only concern is that, as has been stated in the media, this committee must report back by 1 September 2004.
Does the Deputy have a question?
Yes. If the committee is to carry out a trawl of local authorities and other areas of interest, is the time provided not too short? The end of 2004 would be preferable to 1 September 2004 as a deadline if we are to obtain the full picture.
I admit the timeframe is relatively short, although it must be pointed out that Deputy Deenihan wanted me to construct a €250 million stadium in 18 months.
I did not say that. I wanted the Minister to make a decision on the stadium. There is quite a difference.
It is true the time is limited. I appreciate Deputy Wall's support for the amendment when it was introduced. It is short because there is growing expectation among people interested in this area that at long last a coherent policy will be established and they will be able to see results from the Arts Act in the short-term. I hope we can achieve that. To ensure it happens, we have placed a heavy responsibility on the members of the committee. They fully understand this and realise that much time and work will be required to formulate the advice the committee will give to the Arts Council. However, the Arts Council itself is constantly making progress and will perhaps be able to develop the policy over the longer term.
Will the Minister confirm whether the standing committee will report directly to the Arts Council or to the Minister himself? A commitment was made to set up a standing committee on education. Does the Minister intend to direct the Arts Council to carry out a similar process in this area? Will he confirm it is his wish that the Arts Council should provide for the traditional arts more than 1% of its funding, as it has done in the past? Does he think the report of the standing committee will ensure adequate funding for the traditional arts?
The report of the standing committee will be directed to the Arts Council, which is charged with formulating the policy.
The Minister set it up.
I set up the committee in the sense that I instructed that it be set up. The Arts Council appointed the chairperson and I appointed the other two members. The advice from the committee goes directly to the Arts Council, which formulates the policy.
With regard to the percentage of funding to be given to the traditional arts, Deputy Deenihan will be aware that under the legislation the Arts Council is entirely independent in the exercise of that function and must be allowed, for sound reasons, to make that decision itself. I have expressed the wish that the traditional arts be adequately funded, but I have no direct control over the matter. My function is to try to obtain a sufficient amount of money from the Minister for Finance for the Arts Council, which allocates the funding independently. I am pleased that the amount of money for the Arts Council budget for next year has been increased by 19%. This should be of enormous benefit to the sector.
I have expressed a desire to institute a standing committee on education and I know Deputy Deenihan has also expressed this wish in the past. It is a praiseworthy objective. I am not sure whether we will set up the committee in the immediate future as I am concerned about having too many standing committees at once. We will keep the matter under review and I will consider it seriously.
