I thank the Chairman for giving me the opportunity to address the joint committee for a second time which I know is unusual but we really appreciate the opportunity. I will detail for the committee some of the highlights of the report which Mr. Frank Kelly will put in context. When we were here last year, the committee asked for facts and figures. It was of the view that it needed the details in pounds, shillings and pence to enable it to argue for more funding for theatre and the arts generally. We are here to provide those details and to place the matter in context.
This has been a good year for the arts. Often I get the impression when we attend committee meetings that people believe we are always complaining that our circumstances have not been good. In fact, they are better than before. There have been many one-off events. There was the Irish festival in China, the Abbey Theatre centenary celebration, the Re-Joyce Festival and the EU Day of Welcomes on 1 May. In all of these events the Government asked the arts community to respond as it wanted to portray a certain image of Ireland to the accession countries in the case of the EU Day of Welcomes and to a country with which it wanted to open up trade links in the case of the Irish festival in China. It came to us and said it believed culture should come first and asked if we could respond which we were very happy to do.
To put it crudely, those one-off events have meant there has been a good deal of extra money floating around the system this year which is fantastic but next year we will be back to bread and water rations. It is important, therefore, to paint a basic picture of the sector which has been missing for some time. The report, the executive summary of which the committee has before it, will be back from the printers on Friday. I will send a copy to every member next week but the executive summary contains the key findings. It is the first report of its kind in ten years and gives a snapshot of the numbers working in and enjoying the arts and the like.
I have created a Powerpoint presentation. Theatre Forum has about 230 members which include all of the theatres and arts centres the length and breadth of the country. Many more arts centres have been built in recent years. Obviously, every county wants to have its own arts centre. We have, therefore, seen an explosion in the number of theatres and arts venues built around the country. All of the working companies are members. Last year the artistic director of Druid, Ms Garry Hynes, was involved. Companies such as Druid and Rough Magic are also members.
We are involved in all of the arts festivals such as the Dublin Theatre Festival taking place at present. I heard this morning that more than half a million tickets had been sold and that more than 25,000 people would go to see shows over a period of one week. We are also involved in the Fringe Festival, the Wexford Opera Festival, the Galway Arts Festival and the Kilkenny Arts Festival. If one names an arts festival, one will find it is a member of the association. They have all come together to make the case to the committee on an ongoing basis.
The report, the first of its kind in recent years, should provide the credible baseline information the committee needs to make the case for enhanced Exchequer support. In terms of audience share — where we must first look in seeking value for money — are people really going to theatre or is this an élitist activity reserved for the few? We were delighted to find when we surveyed all the different theatres that a record three million tickets had been sold or issued free last year. About 8% were issued free for festivals, outdoor events, talks, post-show discussions and the like.
At an average price of around €19, ticket prices are much lower in Ireland than in neighbouring countries. It is the public subsidy that helps to keep tickets affordable and accessible but as one can see, the public has responded in kind.
Professional theatre-drama is the biggest crowd-puller but there are also some amateur drama groups which have performed in venues in that category. Next comes dance and music of different kinds. Other events which make up about 19% of the total include anything from street performances to discussions and workshops. There is a significant number involved in some form of arts activity the length and breadth of the country.
To give the committee a sense of scale of the sector, we had income of about €82 million last year when it asked how much we were doing for ourselves and how much we were asking it to assist us with. More than half of the income — 52% — is generated by the arts organisations through ticket and programme sales, activities at the bar and the private sponsorship of events. Some 40% is generated through the box office while State funding or the public purse accounts for 38% or €33 million last year, half of which is returned to the State in the form of taxation.
As the committee will be aware, last year was a difficult one as there was a drop in Arts Council funding. That is why my presentation includes a graph showing the picture around the country where local authorities have stepped up to the mark. While the graph shows the fall in Arts Council funding, it also shows that we bumped up other sources of earned income. Local authorities which support festivals and arts activities recognised the difficulty that the fall in funding at national level had caused and provided stop-gap funding for us in order that companies would not have to shut down. As one can see, the Arts Council is still overwhelmingly the biggest source of funding. It is vital to the survival of theatres up and down the country. The local authorities account for about 14% of the total. In addition, there are many FÁS-community employment workers and volunteers in theatres and arts centres. While the overwhelming support is provided at national level, the local authorities and FÁS are also making a significant contribution.
One of the slides in the presentation is complicated but one only needs to look at the last two columns. It bears repeating that we often think of this as a country that supports the arts and culture in a significant way and that we take pride in our writers and performers but the reality is different. I want to show the committee the evidence by looking at our nearest neighbours, Northern Ireland and Scotland, and other EU countries for which I have figures. One can see that Ireland has the lowest figure for per capita funding. It also has the lowest figure for funding as a percentage of GDP. While there is chronic underfunding of many public services, it is also true to say we do not give as much as we like to think we give, in comparison with our European neighbours or even Northern Ireland and Scotland.
There are about 5,000 people working in theatre. This figure does not include all those who volunteer as ushers and the sellers of programmes and tickets during peak periods, mostly part-time. There are about 2,700 full-time equivalent jobs.
In the complete report which I will send to the committee next week we look at the way in which a theatre or arts centre impacts on the local community and the amount spent in terms of actors staying in bed and breakfast accommodation, the buying of advertising and the giving of catering contracts for the pub or restaurant run in the theatre or arts centre. There is a considerable trickle down effect because the money coming in is usually spent on human resources in making shows.
Last year one member of the committee bluntly asked what we wanted. We cannot finish without setting out our wish list for the forthcoming budget. As I stated, we need to raise the level of Arts Council funding significantly. In the programme for Government and the funding strategy for the Arts Council the Government committed to providing a sum of €70 million next year but we are nowhere near that level. Unless there is political support from the members of the committee, the figure will not rise from its current level of €52 million to anywhere near the higher amount.
Senator Ó Murchú will see the coverage of the traditional arts in the newspapers today. While we do not have significant experience in that area, I note the desire of the Minister in the report to have the traditional arts as one of the first or second art forms funded by the State. That obviously would have implications for the budget of the Arts Council which would need additional resources to support its various activities; otherwise the money would be spread more thinly.
On the practical measures that could be taken, I wish to raise the issue of VAT on entrance charges to cultural events, specifically theatre. Although our VAT bill is small in overall Exchequer terms, it is punitive for the organisations we represent. We, therefore, urge the committee to consider a zero VAT rating on theatre tickets which would allow us to offset some of the VAT payable on inputs.
The question of multi-annual funding is not limited to the arts; it has been raised with the Government by the social partners and many other organisations. We work to a nine month timetable. We make our pitch for funding in August and funding for the following year is decided in December. If we plan ambitious shows, tour abroad or work with new writers and directors — it takes time to workshop new work — a nine month timetable is extremely difficult. The question of the Department of Finance moving to a three year funding envelope for the arts has been discussed. We believe we would be able to provide better value for money if we had a guaranteed minimum level of income, perhaps over two years.
Although FÁS supports the performing arts through community employment workers, there is also the issue of professional training for writers, directors, actors and technical personnel. FÁS does not provide support to any extent in terms of funding in this area. This is a slight anomaly because €1 million is spent on training for film and television professionals. I am aware that representatives of Screen Producers Ireland have appeared before the committee. We do not begrudge them the money, but it is an anomaly that so much funding is available for training film and television professionals while literally not one penny is available from FÁS for training in the professional arts.
The report deals with the audiences of the future and young people in schools, a subject that I know is dear to the heart of the Chairperson. I was struck by how many in the theatre and dance community spoke about the need to examine the school curriculum because those at school will be the audience, the directors, writers and actors of the future. Due to funding problems the drama curriculum is not being implemented at junior or senior level. While there has been a great deal of talk about interdepartmental groups to make this happen, it has not happened. Music education is also close to the Chairperson's heart but generally arts education in school is woefully patchy and under-funded. On its present budget, to expect the Arts Council to become involved in the arts in education or hospitals is not sustainable. We need joined up government. Other Departments have to become involved in the arts, particularly in the field of education.