Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If I was not elected to public office with a very good wage I would still be playing music full time. I would certainly not be living in Ireland. I look with admiration and respect at my friends who are making a living in the arts. Playwright Shaun Dunne asked a group of politicians in Leinster House recently, if artists cannot afford to live here in this country does Ireland still get to claim their legacy? It is my instinct that the Arts Council cannot set rates, but if something is funded by the Arts Council can we ensure that the people are well paid and that the rates set by Irish Equity, by Visual Artists Ireland, or the Musicians Union of Ireland - if and when it sets rates - are imposed by the Arts Council with an iron fist?