Robert Troy
Question:19 Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the impact of the employment control framework on arts and cultural institutions. [16608/11]
View answerWednesday, 22 June 2011
Questions (16)
Oral answers (7 contributions)
Arising from the Government's commitment to restore the public finances and restructure and reorganise the public service, each Department has been directed to achieve a progressive reduction in the number of civil servants employed and in the number of public servants employed in bodies funded from their Vote groups through the implementation of an employment control framework, ECF, during the period 2010 to 2014. The achievement of payroll savings and numbers reductions is a key element of the reporting arrangements under the memorandum of understanding as part of the joint EU-IMF programme for Ireland. The memorandum of understanding requires quarterly data for the public service wage bill, the number of employees and average wage. No deviation from the overall numbers reductions targets can be permitted over the period of the programme.
The Taoiseach announced the establishment of the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht in March, bringing together functions from the former Departments of Tourism, Culture and Sport; Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, and the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Arising from this transfer of functions, my Department is liaising with the Department of Finance on a new ECF for the reconfigured Department and the bodies funded from its Vote group. In the meantime, I am advised that under the ECF of the former Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport in 2010, the following numbers reduction targets, to be met by the end of 2014, were set for the national arts and cultural institutions funded by my Department: a phased reduction of 86 staff to be achieved by the end of 2014 in the number of public servants employed in the national institutions, other than the National Gallery of Ireland, bringing the total numbers employed to 452; and a phased reduction of 15 staff to be achieved by the end of 2014 in the National Gallery of Ireland which has its own Vote, bringing the total numbers employed by that body to 110.
I understand the arts and cultural institutions were advised in January of the required staffing numbers reductions to be attained by the end of this year. Of the required reduction of 51 in the number of public servants employed by the arts and cultural institutions during 2011, a total of 14 was achieved by the end of March 2011.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House.
In the National Gallery, where a reduction of nine in staff is required, a reduction of three had been achieved by the same date.
The Acting Chairman is very strict on the Minister.
We need a different chairman.
I do not have the written replies so must be careful as to the clock.
I welcome the Minister's response and understand the stringent hand he must deal. I appreciate that his Department is the lowest staffed of all Departments. My main concern is for staffing levels in the various cultural institutions. At present these are at breaking point, with staffing levels in the region of 700 across all the institutions.
I reiterate that cultural tourists spend seven times more than ordinary tourists. I am concerned, therefore, about the Minister's prediction up to 2014. Does he honestly believe these institutions will be able to maintain their current service to the public and to tourists? Significant emphasis is being placed on tourism and cultural tourism in the revitalising of the economy. If the levels are at breaking point with approximately 700 staff, what will the situation be like by 2014? Will we see reduced opening hours in cultural institutions? If so, this will be counter-productive to the aims of the Minister's Government.
I must be fair to everyone.
According to the Croke Park agreement, we can reach our target and this is very much tied into the EU-IMF deal, which as the Deputy knows was put in place by his party's Government and before our time. I am in regular contact with the cultural institutions and realise they could use more staff. Nevertheless, they have not been forced to remove any services which, in fact, have improved with better technology. They have not been forced to reduce opening hours and are in discussions about increasing hours. The intern project, which was included in the jobs strategy, could be of major assistance to the cultural institutions. There are a large number of young graduates who would be delighted to have the experience of working in the cultural institutions through that scheme.
There is a way, therefore, of providing additional human resources for the various cultural institutions that would be of major value to the actual institutions, obviously, but also to the people involved because of the very important experience they would get by working in our cultural institutions. I reiterate, these institutions are free of charge to tourists which is why we see so many tourists on Kildare Street every day. The institutions are as good as one would find in any part of the world. There is an exhibition in the National Museum at present which I would recommend to anyone. We should all go to it; it is only next door. One can also go next door to the National Library and see an exhibition on Yeats that compares with any exhibition one might see in any part of the world. We should feel very privileged to have these cultural institutions right on the doorstep of this House, although at times people may not visit them.