Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 28 September 2016
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht
Estimates for Public Services 2016: Vote 33 - Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs
2:15 pm
Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of those calls and I met representatives of the National Campaign for the Arts. I will meet them again next week. Representatives of cultural institutions were here earlier and I regularly meet their chairpersons. I am in touch with all the different organisations, including the Heritage Council and the Arts Council, where I attended an event this morning. I am very conscious of the need for resources to be maintained and increased in all these areas, as they all do tremendous work. The point is there must be a level of realism in expectations for the budget. I will certainly make the case but it will not be easy. The budget negotiations continue and it must be agreed. We have all been told the envelope is very small.