Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Ministers and their officials. I compliment the Minister on the practical measures he has introduced to encourage philanthropy in the arts. They are welcome at this difficult time. The fact we are in a financial crisis does not make the arts less valuable within our society. The growth of community arts has been one of the most exciting developments in recent years. Community arts have spread to all corners of the country and they are not just based in the large centres of population, in particular, Dublin.

My concern is the manner in which the Arts Council allocates money and how the 8% cut referred to by the Minister will be passed by the council to the groups and individuals to whom it awards grants, particularly the arts venues that have expanded successfully over recent years. As we discuss cuts being meted out, the reality is they are not being meted out equally. The council has funding commitments, to which it is adhering, to established galleries, theatres and arts venues in Dublin and other urban centres to a lesser extent.

My concern is for the other arts venues throughout the country, which have very commendable programmes which include community arts. I stress this because, unfortunately, for a long time the arts have laboured under the idea they are for certain people. Community arts and the outreach work of many arts centres have made the arts relevant through people participating and through interaction with professional artists. It gives a platform to the abundance of creativity we have.

Will the Minister engage with the Arts Council and point out to it that smaller arts centres are taking a greater percentage of the cuts because of commitments to larger institutions? These cuts are more detrimental to the future of these arts centres, particularly in light of the fact that town councils are being discontinued. Many town councils fund arts centres and this funding stream will go. The Minister should raise this with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. The town councils which fund the arts get their money from ratepayers and I am aware of a number of arts venues which will suffer from the loss of town councils. This cannot happen. It is a serious problem and it will be impressed upon the Minister even more as reality bites for arts venues. Is the Minister prepared to discuss this with the Minister, Deputy Hogan?

I also have a question for the Minister of State, Deputy McGinley. If part of a proposed business or operation was in an Údarás na Gaeltachta area, would a joint venture between the údarás and the IDA or Enterprise Ireland be possible whereby they could work co-operatively to deliver to an area larger than the údarás area?