Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for being here and it is a pleasure to be here. It is such a relief to see people with energy, artistry, creativity and culture coming before us. The witnesses are terrific. They did not drone on for nine or ten minutes by which time we had lost the point. We got the point, that is why we are here and that is why, thanks be to God, I became a member of this committee this year, so I am delighted to meet them.

I have a number of questions, one of which is quite antagonistic so as to get a response from the witnesses. Senator Ó Ríordáin, a former Minister of State who is now in the Seanad with me, raised a question here. He is right because the issue of competition law versus the freelance artist and whether they have copyright is so important. If we want an artist's charter or bill of rights, we need to set about it and specify very defined areas within legislation. Perhaps we are the committee to help the witnesses do that. We are legislators so we might be able to form or go towards forming that Bill and getting it into the Seanad. One of the greatest Bills came from the Seanad to the Dáil. Perhaps that should be one of the things we do. Perhaps we should get together in some kind of sub-committee and try to do that. It is not easy. Bills are not easy to write. There will always be "isms" and "ists" because one of the issues is how one defines the artist who would warrant the minimum payment. Ms Mangan kind of answered that question but has it been fully answered? Is it a case that someone works 16 weeks per year and is then considered an artist? We must be very careful that we end all our sentences in a Bill. I think we should try to do it and that this is one of the things that should come about today. We should try to put a Bill relating to what the witnesses have said to the Seanad.

My second question is for the screenwriters. They said that they should have a general vision. What should that vision be? Is it the €20 million? They spoke about a big vision. Is it a €20-million vision?

Could Mr. Downes outline the ways in which the arm's-length operational autonomy of the arts is being eroded? I think politics corrodes the arts. "Corrode" is the wrong word. It chokes them before they get off the ground. What would be the first thing he would do if he was the Minister? I put the same question to Ms Mangan.

How would the witnesses answer somebody who sat here and with a sense of ignorance or self-satisfaction said to them "You're doing very well. You've festivals everywhere. You've dance troupes, Celtic music, young ballet dancers, singing, competitions and films and you're on television and radio. You've got centres in every place in Ireland. We've national theatres and new plays and sure we're not done when we've one festival and the next festival". There was much coverage recently of Roald Dahl, whose works I adore. When he came to the Baboró International Arts Festival for Children in Galway nearly 20 years ago, he said he could not believe how brilliant it was. Could the witnesses answer that question? It is an antagonistic question but it is one that comes up when people are giving out money.

I have spent my life in the arts in education, a topic that is nowhere to be found in this. There are three sentences. The arts charter needs to completely rewritten. It is illiterate in places. If one read the first paragraph, one would take cyanide. The arts in education are terribly important because that is where they begin. They also begin, as Senator Ó Ríordáin noted, in places of conflict. The arts are alive in Palestine. They are far more alive than anything else because they are the one thing that brings children from all sides together. The arts in education are sadly missed in this. The subject is pushed in as an addendum to something but it does not stand up on its own. That is why the Government gave 25 points to mathematics but it did not give them to music. Senator Ó Ríordáin is right and I will be very happy to work with him in trying to put together some kind of Bill that we can put to the House because that gives an energy to what the witnesses are talking about. Ms O'Grady is right. The more artistic people are the more of a pauper they are - financially, not creatively.