Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I accept all the arguments made by the group. The campaign was designed not just to protect the budget but also to inform public opinion and unite all the arts groups. They had not done this in the past but they were challenged to do so by the McCarthy report last year, and this has been a benefit both to the groups and everybody else. Instead of seeing each other as competitors, the groups saw themselves as complementary to each other, with a great service done to themselves and society in general as a result. The other factor which benefited their campaign significantly was the Farmleigh process. A global network focused on culture and its importance to the economy has raised the arts to a new level.

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