Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 June 2019
44. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will commission a report on the issues faced by artists who are parents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24331/19]
View answerA range of supports in the areas of early childhood care and education or free pre-school are provided to parents across all sectors of Irish society, including artists, through schemes operated by my colleague the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Further details of these schemes are available on her Department's website at http://www.dcya.gov.ie/cat/EN/What-We-Do/211.htm.
My Department, through its funding to the Arts Council, supports professional artists in a variety of ways. Primary support for the arts is delivered through the Arts Council, whose funding has increased in recent years and now stands at €75 million in 2019, an increase of €6.8m or 10% over 2018. The Arts Council, which is independent in its funding decisions under the Arts Act 2003, operates within a published 10 year strategic framework entitled Making Great Art Work. This strategy prioritises support for artists throughout their careers, by the involvement of many agencies in cultural provision, by the impact of the arts on the creative economy, and by the depth and breadth of people's engagement with the arts. The Arts Council now includes as an assessment criterion, the organisation’s policy on the remuneration of artists in an effort to ensure that organisations in receipt of Arts Council funding should offer fair and equitable remuneration to artists.
At present, while the Government remains committed to the range of supports in place for parents, I have no plans to commission a specific report on the matter in question.
