Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

One of my concerns is in regard to the small theatre companies throughout the country. Although these are not high profile nationally, they are very high profile locally and are extremely important. I am aware of some small theatre groups and companies that are already in a difficult situation and are very concerned about funding for next year. Some of this relates to local government support, and it is very important we make a strong connection between local government, arts support and the national slice of cake in terms of budgetary input into the small theatre groups. There is genuine concern that there will be a significant local knock-on effect if those theatres and companies are allowed to disappear.

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