Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As it stands, no Arts Council funding is going into Waterford for festivals. I accept the Minister cannot interfere in the process. However, as the Department sets the policy in terms of inclusion of young people and of community arts in particular, can the Department find the €11,000 elsewhere? Otherwise we will have no festival in Waterford. The contracts have been signed and the acts have been booked. There was no contact or consultation with the committee, which has received funding for the past 13 years and actually received an increase in funding last year. To go from €11,000 to zero is unacceptable.

I accept that the Arts Council has a job to do and its role is separate from that of the Minister. This festival is about the 40 volunteers who come together on an annual basis to make the festival happen. It is about schools, musicians and dancers. It is about encouraging creativity and fostering a positive atmosphere, and vision of and for Waterford. Let us not lose that goodwill that is so important to Waterford. Let us support this festival and keep the arts alive. The local authority and businesses are very supportive of the festival. As it stands there will be no arts festival in Waterford this year because of this decision.

I plead with the Minister of State to go back to the Department and ensure the funding is found elsewhere because no reason has been given and there has been no consultation. The committee has been working away voluntarily and diligently for the past 12 months. Having got €11,000 last year, to be told now that the festival is getting no funding is not good enough. The Government sets the policy on community arts. I ask the Minister of State to bring that message back to the Minister. It is not good enough for Waterford to be left out in the cold when we see that our neighbours receive anything from €90,000 to €1.5 million every year.

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