Micheál Martin
Ceist:1. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if the Cabinet committee on arts, Irish and the Gaeltacht has been established and met. [28623/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 18 October 2016
Ceisteanna (1, 2)
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:2. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet sub-committee on arts, heritage and Gaeltacht affairs last met. [30614/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (11 píosaí cainte)
I proposed to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. The Cabinet committee on arts, Irish, the Gaeltacht and the islands was established on 8 June this year and its first meeting took place last week, on 13 October.
The Taoiseach stated that the arts committee was established on 8 June.
Yes.
Its first meeting was on 30 October.
It was 13 October. An triú lá déag.
I had thought he said 30 October. We are not there yet, how could that be?
I am not that bad.
That is the early influenza. Need I say more?
This is an appalling indictment of the Government's commitment to arts policy that its first meeting was this week and it has not met since June. There are enormous issues to be covered by the arts committee. We had an earlier debate about the sense of marginalisation of the arts community in the reconstruction and reconfiguration of the Department dealing with arts, rural and Gaeltacht affairs. It was not the centrepiece of that and there is a sense that the arts is not central to Government policy in any shape or form. The artistic community felt marginalised. The idea that the Cabinet committee has only met once in that period - and that was in the past week - is a shocking indictment of the Government's commitment to the arts, the Irish language and the Gaeltacht. That is probably reflective of the fact that at the Cabinet table we do not have a strong philosophy or focus on the arts in general.
In addition, it is arguable that if the committee had met earlier, it might have had a better influence on the budgetary position of the arts. I know the Department had significant expenditure in the subhead resulting from the investment in 2016 and the commemoration of the 1916 Rising, and this represented a major opportunity for the Department and the Government to maintain that base of funding and apply much of it to the artistic organisations across the country and artistic endeavour generally. There has been a 16% reduction in the Department's allocation. The Arts Council got some additional funding this year but we felt it should have got more.
We think that multi-annual funding for some of the key arts organisations is essential.
The Taoiseach will also know that Culture 2025 in its existing draft form is currently being revised by the Oireachtas committee. An explanation is required in terms of the purpose and the modalities of an implementation body relating to cultural policy, something that has yet to be finalised. Furthermore, in terms of Culture Ireland and the legacy programme coming out of 2016, will the Taoiseach indicate whether the Cabinet committee has confirmed separate mechanisms for arts funding in terms of legacy funding? Will that conclude in 2017 or what is the intention of Government in that regard? Did the Cabinet committee give any consideration to maintaining the existing expenditure base in the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs for the arts in particular? This is the funding that would have gone to a lot of the events pertaining to the 1916 Commemoration. Did the committee look at the idea of using that money for funding the arts and for the various arts organisations, including the Arts Council, the Heritage Council, the Film Board and Culture Ireland, to give them a substantial allocation which would have maintained the same base of expenditure in the Department but with the moneys going to the arts world and the arts community?
Will the Taoiseach explain why the committee has only met once since 8 June and then only last week? Why did it not meet from the time of its establishment on 8 June until 13 October?
On a similar theme, it is quite extraordinary that the committee dealing with the arts should only have met after the budget. That says it all in terms of the commitment of the Government to the arts, in that there was no discussion whatsoever prior to the budget about properly resourcing and funding the arts. This was after we had a major discussion in this House in which Members on all sides pledged their verbal and rhetorical commitment to the arts. When it came to allocating money that would make a difference, however, and turning words into reality, the committee did not even meet until after the event. Is it any wonder that we had the pretty shocking decision of the Government to cut the arts, culture and film budget by 16% and to cut the Irish language budget by 9%? We had a €30 million cut in the case of arts, film and culture and €5 million in the case of the Irish language.
I have heard the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs since saying that there was an extra €50 million provided for the Centenary which was a once-off allocation, thus justifying the 16% cut. Surely the Taoiseach knew and if the Cabinet committee had met it would have acknowledged the fact the National Campaign for the Arts had very specifically asked in its pre-budget submission that the entire €50 million that had been allocated to the arts for the Centenary would be retained. That was a very modest ask because, as the Taoiseach knows - I do not know why he finds this particularly amusing - the debate in this House and the argument put forward by the National Campaign for the Arts was that we should move from the miserable 0.1% of GDP that is spent on the arts in this country in the direction, at least, of 0.6% which is the average spend on the arts in Europe. There was no move at all, despite all the rhetorical commitments. There was no actual move. Members of the Government are happy to jump in front of the cameras when there is a photo opportunity for the Centenary or some other arts event but when it comes to listening to the artists and giving resources, there is no meeting and an actual cut in the budget. I do not see how the Taoiseach can possibly justify this. The National Campaign for the Arts is asking the Government to reconsider and I ask the same. Will the Taoiseach reconsider? Will this committee meet and take seriously arts, culture and heritage which is one of the greatest assets of this country but which has been treated as a very poor second cousin when it comes to the allocation of resources?
I, too, would ask the Taoiseach to reconsider the disgraceful decision to cut €30 million from the programme for arts, culture and film. We should not be surprised that the Cabinet sub-committee has only met once. That reflects the Government's historical attitude to the areas of arts, heritage, the Irish language, Gaeltacht affairs and so on. The capital would have been a good investment in our museums, libraries, galleries and institutions, our artists could have been offered security of tenure in urban centres, we could have helped the growth in animation and the Irish film industry and also, particularly, the Irish language.
For all of the jumping up and down by Fianna Fáil, it supported and endorsed this budget. With their budgetary choices, especially in relation to the language, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have rejected the investment plan put forward by 80 Irish language and Gaeltacht groups which could have created 1,175 jobs and which would have enhanced the used of the language and improved access for Irish speakers. I appeal to the Taoiseach to reconsider the Government decision in this matter and to treat the arts, our language and culture with the respect and the investment they deserve. This also makes very good economic sense. There will be a return, not just in terms of art for the sake of art but also in terms of jobs and meaningful employment for the people involved.
I go to a lot of meetings. If I had attended six or eight meetings of this committee, people might wonder what I was at as well. The committee met just once. We discussed the téarmaí tagartha of the coiste. We discussed the beartais oideachais Gaeltachta 2017-2022. We discussed Bille na dteangacha oifigiúla and we discussed Culture 2025 - Éire Ildánach. I imagine I am not supposed to say those things, but that was the work of the committee. We set out the terms of reference which were to support the advancement of action in the arts, culture and heritage sectors in line with the vision and priorities that are set out in the framework policy Culture 2025 - Éire Ildánach to support the implementation of the 20 year strategy for the Irish language, particularly in the context of facilitating the delivery of the objectives that require cross-departmental action; and to maintain oversight of policy areas such as education and broadcasting that have the potential to impact significantly on the arts and Irish language sectors.
Obviously a specific €50 million was made available last year for very important work this year involving the improvement of infrastructural facilities in Dublin at the GPO, on Moore Street, Kilmainham Courthouse, Cathal Brugha Barracks, the restoration of tenement buildings, Richmond Hospital and so on. These are lasting legacies that will stand the test of time over the next 50 or 100 years, in their own right.
It was also very evident that the relatively small amount of money that was given to local authorities resulted in an enormous explosion of interest throughout the country, where communities showed real leadership in artistic endeavour and creative work in so many ways. For that reason, the Government has allocated a further €5 million this year for that sort of development through Creative Ireland which will continue throughout the next five years.
That is in addition to the extra moneys being given to the Arts Council and a number of other facilities, including the Film Board and the cultural institutions, to assist in the delivery of Éire Ildánach. The full-scale programme that has been worked out in this area under five pillars will enable the unlocking of the creative potential of every child in every school and community in the country. We are enabling creativity in every community by investing in our creative infrastructure. This will, for example, make Ireland a centre of excellence in media production. As a consequence, we will be able to unify our global reputation. This is being done for a very good reason. We want to harness the enormous range and capacity of the artistic and cultural creativity that exists in our communities. The Minister will bring a memorandum to the Government shortly to spell out the details of this approach. We are recognising the way communities responded in a leadership fashion to the 1916 centenary commemorative events that were conducted this year.
The policy on Gaeltacht education is another important issue that was discussed at the committee. There has been a great deal of consultation on and analysis of the policy, which has been developed over some time in the Department of Education and Skills. If we are to be serious about this, we need to do something serious about it. Clearly, the situation that applies with regard to the language in Gaeltacht schools varies widely from place to place. There is a whole new process to be put in place here. Schools will be able to register as being recognised as Gaeltacht schools with features including involvement in all subjects through Irish and immersion in the language. The facilities that will be provided as a consequence will demonstrate that the State is serious about the teaching of the language. We need to discuss this issue here and in a broader context around the country. There are many schools in Gaeltacht areas where there has been a decline in the language because of the population change or whatever else. At the same time, there is great flúirseacht in Gaelscoileanna in cities and urban areas where the language is being spoken in great quantities. We need to deal with that. I have mentioned some of the matters that were discussed by the committee.