Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

I am glad the Minister has given a commitment in the House that he will establish a steering committee or a strategy committee to implement the recommendations of this report. I was delighted to serve on the committee that produced it and am grateful that a number of recommendations I made have been included.

The reason I welcomed the commitment made today by the Minister is that although the Arts Council and the Combat Poverty Agency produced a similar report with many of the same recommendations in the 1990s, they were not implemented. Had they been implemented then, we would not be facing the same problems regarding cultural inclusion and social cohesion that affect our society today. Does the Minister accept that many people are deprived of enjoying the arts to the extent they should because of their class, educational or socio-economic backgrounds or ethnic origins?

Although the Minister has little time remaining to him, will he give a commitment that the Government will pursue a form of spatial strategy regarding the provision of facilities nationwide in order that communities will have access to arts centres and to quality performances? One barrier that emerged strongly in this report concerned the issue of geographical location. Those who live in remote locations have no opportunity to see professional performances because Dublin and the other major centres are simply too distant from them. There must be a commitment to some spatial distribution of arts centres nationwide in order that touring parties can visit such locations to provide quality performances, as can local groups. Moreover, the Arts Council requires a considerable amount of increased funding to enable it to provide funding for more professional touring groups to tour, thus ensuring that people can have access to quality performances. The Minister should respond to these questions.

See this speech in context