Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

My general policy on the arts, culture and the creative industry is to promote and strengthen it, increase participation and to see what added value we can get for the economy. It would be easy at times such as this to look at all aspects of society from an economic perspective but I firmly believe that arts and culture, being a part of what we are, are of value in their own right. It is an added advantage that we are able to use it as a marketing tool for this country to attract people to come here and to be able to add, for example, not only to cultural tourism, but also to our film industry. I would be more than happy to do whatever it takes to strengthen and promote those sectors and industries. I will give it all my energy and all my interest.

Closer integration and co-operation between the various sectors is critical. Reference was made to that previously. Culture and arts cannot stand alone separate from tourism. The integration of those areas, especially in the regions, has significant potential. The same could be said of sport. We have seen the advances that have been made in golf tourism. There is more potential in that regard. The opening of the convention centre this year has great potential for business tourism. That is an area in which I foresee new opportunities attracting people. Some of the first conferences to be held there are in the medical sector and they tend to be big spenders.

Festivals have done significant work for communities. They are important for the domestic market, which is also important. The innovation that has been adopted by local communities around the country in creating festivals, which not only improve the spirit of their local areas but which attract people to them, has been admirable in recent years. My plan for each of the different sectors is to promote, support, encourage and increase participation, and to do it for its own sake and also for the purposes of strengthening that industry for the economy.

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