Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will speak very briefly about the creative industries in the context of the Research and Innovation Bill 2024, which is coming through the House at the moment. I met with the Department and may submit an amendment to the Bill. I flag the importance of the creative and cultural industries in the future work of the new Taighde Éireann, which will replace Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council. The lack of research in the creative and cultural industries is a significant problem. They are very socially valuable industries. The arts, culture, heritage and audiovisual sectors are very valuable socially and economically. However, the figures we use to value the heritage sector come from 2009 while those for the arts come from 2010 and those for the audiovisual sector come from 2015. How can we make policy for these sectors with such out-of-date research? The fact that these figures come from different years is part of the challenge we face in understanding our culture. Perhaps we do not take it seriously enough to value it or to regularly track its value.

I recently read an interesting paper from Professor Daniel Carey and Dr. Steven Hadley. It argued that we need an evidence and policy research centre for culture, of which there are many in Britain, and that the Irish Research Council would be well placed to take on this role. As such, the future Taighde Éireann would be well placed to fund and support such cultural policy work.

I am just back from the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, on whose economic committee I now sit. I will keep the House updated on the work of that committee. The creative industries are one area on which I hope to work alongside our colleagues from Westminster and across the islands.