Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Finance Bill, particularly in light of the pressing and important issues facing the country at the present time. The importance of the economy and the impact that economic policy, be it good or bad, can have on the lives of ordinary people cannot be underestimated. While it would be naive to suggest that everything begins and ends with the economy, there is no doubt that the economy matters in ways that most people rarely, if ever, think about. For example, when we think about economic matters we often think about banks, financial institutions and so forth. Rarely, if ever, do we associate economics or the economy with the arts, sport, public libraries, our built heritage, forests, mountain walks, lakes and rivers, yet all of these areas have been significantly affected by the recent budget and more importantly, by the policies of slash and burn favoured by the Fine Gael and Labour Government.

Sinn Féin is deeply concerned, for example, by the proposal to merge the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Crawford Gallery and the National Gallery of Ireland. We are also opposed to the proposed merger of the National Archives and the Irish Manuscript Commission, to any change in the arm's length principle or to any proposals that would interfere with the independence of key artistic and cultural institutions. The Government has not produced any information on cost-benefit analysis, headcount reductions and so forth that would justify the proposed changes, yet it is hell bent on a process of amalgamations, mergers, the dissolution of independent boards and the non-renewal of vital leadership roles.

In a time of fiscal austerity, cutbacks, mass unemployment and national despondency, the arts offer a valuable and creative outlet to people. In a mature society that values expression and creativity, the arts have the potential to enrich lives. They help us to think about the world and our place in it in a more imaginative, innovative and abstract way.

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