Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will again speak to the generality of the amendments rather than going through responses to each one. The problem is that cultural spaces and culture are not explicitly referenced in the Bill. That is part of the reasoning but in drafting these amendments, Deputy Ó Snodaigh, who is primarily responsible for them, and I were of the view that it would be appropriate to put them in the Bill. According to one report, in Dublin alone we have had an 85% reduction in the number of night-time cultural spaces available. In many cases, it is the small- to medium-size cultural venues and spaces that have been lost. They are the ones that act as incubators, if one likes, for different forms of cultural and artistic expression. In the absence of those, we often hear some of our most talented emerging artists and cultural practitioners say they feel that, alongside the lack of affordable accommodation, they have to leave the cities in which they want to perform and practise. They are going to places that have better infrastructure in their networks.

If I understood the Minister of State correctly, he said - I was a little bit surprised by this - that he did not think it would be appropriate to have a cultural strategy, yet we have an economic development strategy and a housing strategy in the context of development plans. It just seems to me, given the enormous benefits that a vibrant cultural life has for residents and visitors and for well-being and economic opportunity, among other things, that some consideration should be given to the matter. I appeal to the Minister of State's cultural interests and ask him to reconsider. I know he does not support the individual amendments, but I ask him to at least reconsider the spirit of the amendments and to see if there is some way that they can be worked in.

Likewise, with respect to amendment No. 624, one could argue that planning authorities can already attach conditions to a grant of permission, but there is nothing like being explicit and giving them the tools to consider very specific forms of conditions. We already do that with retail, crèches and other kinds of infrastructure. I do not think catch-all terms such as "amenity" or "facilities" do what is required here. I appeal to the Minister of State's cultural nature to see if there is some way he will consider these amendments in one form or another on Report Stage.