Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

My concern with the Arts Council moneys is that we can put €20 million, €30 million or €40 million more into the Arts Council and it will be spread around but the people moving from project to project will still earn €10,000 a year. It will not do anything to address security in people's lives. The capital funding is an opportunity to offset some of the costs and pressures on people. The negative effect of not having creative people in our city centres is well documented. There is creative flight; I am seeing friends go to Berlin or London. More could be done. Political priorities have to be set for the period up to 2027. I do not see artists' spaces as being prioritised with the likes of the cultural institutions.

I will move on to the hedgerow conversation that has been going on over the past six weeks. There have been high-profile hedgerow cutting cases which led to destruction before cutting was restricted under the Heritage Act. I refer to cuttings in Offaly performed by Irish Rail, on the N7 performed by Kildare County Council, and vegetation cutting in Trinity College, Dublin. The protection of national heritage and biodiversity and conserving our natural and built heritage are commitments from the Department in this plan. Considering that all of the cases I mention were performed by State bodies, possibly outside of the law, is the Department aware of them and will action be taken?