I thank the committee for agreeing to meet a deputation, it is much appreciated. I will begin with an outline of our position and my colleagues will expand using their personal experience as performing artists.
Irish Actors' Equity Group is a division within SIPTU, representing performing artists including actors, designers, dancers and stage managers in theatre, film and television. We are running a wide campaign at present, which followed from our 50th anniversary celebrations last year. We have been pursuing issues which we see as impacting particularly on our membership, focusing on trying to rectify what we perceive as injustices for artists or unequal treatment. We look to this committee and the Houses of the Oireachtas to try to deal in a different way with performing artists under the social welfare legislation. We believe there are good reasons for this.
The performing arts has long been recognised in this country as particularly important. However, this creative force in the country must be nurtured so that it can develop for the good of the entire nation. Using art can bring about public debate on issues that have been whispered about. This can lead to awareness and have positive benefits for society. Examples of this are plays such those by Marina Carr, which deal with abuse, those by Mark O'Rowe, which deal with drug addiction, and Tom Murphy's "Whistle in the Dark", which deals with violence. On television, "No Tears" told the story of hepatitis C and "Bloody Sunday" raised consciousness of the issues in Northern Ireland. Programmes of this sort have often been followed by debates on "Prime Time", which have sparked widespread public debate. Soap operas, which are sometimes seen as light entertainment, have tackled serious subjects such as pregnancy and abortion, as well as violence. "Rós na Rún" is now being used as part of the curriculum to help teach Irish to young people.
Regrettably, while there is a certain amount of lip service paid to society's cultural needs, the professional status of the performing artist has not been recognised by successive Governments. This is reflected particularly in their treatment with regard to social welfare. The years of training to become a professional actor are disregarded in a way that would never happen to graduates in another field. Most actors spend three to four years in their initial training. There is a highly regarded course at Trinity College which is recognised internationally as one of the top colleges training students in the performing arts.
Once qualified, however, the nature of work is sporadic and casual. Performing artists' work patterns tend to be a few weeks of employment then several weeks or months without it. Almost all jobs involve short-term contracts because plays have a set, short run. Many of our members have had difficulty in having this understood at a social welfare office when answering the question, "Why did you leave your last job?" It is sometimes difficult to explain that a play had a set run, had finished and that there was no option to stay on. This not only applies to lesser known actors, but also to some of Ireland's most famous faces. It is a feature of the profession in Ireland that they have to go to the social welfare office to sign on when a show finishes its run.
We want it recognised that performing artists are actively seeking work when they are attending auditions. The majority of actors obtain their work through agents, who constantly trawl for work on their behalf. Actors must pay for this service and, therefore, not alone are they seeking work, they are using their money to do it. When performing artists apply for social welfare, they frequently find their claims disallowed because the social welfare officer believes auditions are not the same as the interviews attended by those in other fields.
Performers who have qualified for a medical card find these are withdrawn once they obtain work, even if the period of work is as short as four or six weeks. They then have to re-apply and go through the process again and often experience difficulties in having a card re-issued. There are difficulties experienced in the payment of social welfare because actors are out of work quite often and are sometimes considered self-employed. This means they may not have full contributions in a year, which adds up by the time actors reach pensionable age. They can have difficulties qualifying for an old age pension.
Actors are, by nature, casual workers, a position that has been recognised for other groups such as dockers, who gained recognition following a High Court case in the late 1980s or early 1990s. We feel that this precedent can be used to make special arrangements to cover performing artists.
In other areas, we find that very few artists can achieve ownership of a home as lending institutions see them as high risk. Many, therefore, depend on rent allowance and any capping or alteration of this hits hard. Many of our members, who would have been well known faces in their younger days, live their last years and die in bedsits. We receive applications to our hardship fund to help provide funeral expenses, something that is extremely sad for people who have been seen as famous and at the top of their profession.
When actors or performing artists are not in employment, they still have to work to ensure their skills are kept completely fresh. Dancers have to dance for between three and six hours each day to ensure that they are constantly at their best. Actors have to work on voice and movement and they attend courses, run by private companies, that are not recognised by the social welfare authorities in the same way as FÁS courses.
Special social security arrangements have been made to help actors in other European countries such as France and Denmark and the Irish Actors Equity Group believes that similar arrangements should be introduced in Ireland - my colleague, Ms Barrington, will provide further information on this matter. Social welfare benefits should cover performers for a period of three years, while they learn their profession. A 15 week social insurance contribution, paid within the previous 18 months, should be sufficient to qualify for this. Documentation to prove that the people in question are looking for work, have attended auditions or have taken classes would also be needed. A card showing that one is a member of the Irish Actors Equity Group should be admissible as proof of status as a performing artist. There are strict criteria for membership of the group and only genuine members of the profession are accepted. It will not happen that a person will be able to walk in off the street and demand special social welfare arrangements as an actor or other performing artist.
The wider campaign we are pursuing involves a request that performing artists be assessed for tax over a three year period, to take account of the peaks and valleys which can occur - one may have a very good year in the middle of a couple of barren years. While I appreciate that tax matters do not fall under the remit of this committee, they are certainly part of the business of the House. Performing and interpretative artists should receive the same treatment as creative artists in relation to the earnings from their art, including an extension of the provision of social housing.
There is a benefit to society in making the changes we recommend. Modern performing artists have helped to put Ireland on the world map through their work in film, theatre, literature and music. They have received Oscars, BAFTAs and Golden Globe awards. The economic spin-off is that visitors, including film-makers, are attracted to the country. When a film is shot in Ireland, not only is employment given to performing artists, but general workers and craftspeople get extra work. Taxes and PRSI payments are made and the earnings from the film are spent in the community. The benefits in supporting the arts and artists are far greater than the perceived drawbacks. Calculations, using specific examples of films that have been produced in Ireland in recent years, demonstrate that the difference between the perceived loss of revenue through tax breaks is more than offset by receipts from PAYE, PRSI and general spending in the community. The Irish Actors Equity Group hopes, by addressing this committee, that its cause will be better understood by Members of the Oireachtas. We hope to gather support for change and we would welcome any assistance that can be given.
