Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move:"That Dáil Éireann:

accepts that:

- the arts are essential to the wellbeing and advancement of the Irish people;

- a thriving arts and culture sector makes a positive contribution to the Irish nation; and

- while the arts have an intrinsic value of their own in national life, they also represent an important economic sector, in terms of employment and tourism; and

acknowledges that:

- there is anger, disquiet and disbelief about the effective dilution of the arts as a Cabinet portfolio; and

- public investment in the arts is low by international standards;

commits to:

- protecting the independence of the arts community;

- ensuring a stable, sustainable and secure funding model for the arts with progressive increases in State expenditure in line with improvements in the economy and the public finances;

- enabling full community engagement and benefit from State arts funding;

- supporting the ‘arm’s length principle’ which promotes the Arts Council’s autonomy in disbursing State funding to artists and arts organisations;

- providing much needed investment in the modernisation of facilities offered by the national cultural institutions, where this is lacking;

- enhancing arts provision in our education system and, in particular, increasing music provision in primary schools;

- encouraging all national cultural institutions and, in principle, other bodies in receipt of Arts Council or Government grants to provide discount entry tickets to all young people under the age of 26;

- supporting, in particular, Irish music and dance, and seeking to embrace fully within the arts sector the organisations which provide education, support and events in these areas;

- ensuring that local authorities implement a local arts action plan which benefits local communities and local artists and brings the arts directly to the people;

- re-establishing Culture Ireland as an autonomous entity to promote Irish arts and culture internationally;

- promoting an awareness of the role of arts in society and to promote philanthropy as the heart of that awareness campaign;

- fostering greater dialogue and partnership between the national cultural institutions and the universities of Ireland;

- maintaining the competitiveness of the Irish film industry and film-making in Ireland through appropriate incentives, whilst facilitating the use of heritage in State ownership, where it can be done without prejudice to its integrity;

- encouraging active co-operation between the Arts Council and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, in particular tours of the island by selected exhibitions and performances; and

- examining the introduction of an Arts Capital Grants Scheme, similar to the Sports Capital Programme; and

- calls for:

- cross-party support to be developed on Culture 2025 with its adoption as national policy being subject to the approval of Dáil Éireann; and

- the restoration of the arts as a distinct and clearly defined Cabinet portfolio providing leadership and State support to the sector.”

I am sure the Minister has read the motion at this stage so I will not go through all the details of it. It is a very thorough and extensive motion. I welcome all those in the Public Gallery who have come here today and I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important issue.

Fianna Fáil has tabled this motion as testament to our commitment to ensuring that arts and culture remain at the heart of Irish life and that their contribution to a well-rounded society is fully recognised and realised. This motion also comes in the wake of the Government's effective downgrading of the arts as a Cabinet portfolio. There was widespread anger at this move and we believe in the restoration of arts and heritage as a portfolio in its own right. I was honoured to be appointed as the party's Front Bench arts spokesperson by Deputy Micheál Martin. This decision underlines Fianna Fáil's commitment to the arts and heritage and I was extremely pleased by the appointment. It is an area I am very passionate about and have been actively involved in for much of my life since school, having studied in NCAD, worked as an independent curator and through my previous job as an arts education officer for Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board.

In the weeks since my appointment, I have had many meetings with people in the arts community to discuss their concerns, priorities and hopes for the future. This motion is being put forward on foot of that engagement. Our motion also highlights the anger, disquiet and disbelief about the effective dilution of the arts as a Cabinet portfolio. What was formerly the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has been expanded to include regional development and rural affairs and now also has responsibility for the roll out of rural broadband and, it would seem, the development of the post office network.

Fianna Fáil understands and believes in the need for a dedicated Government Department for regional development and rural affairs. After all, we set one up in 2002. However, we are extremely concerned that these crucial issues have been added to an already extensive portfolio and we share the fears that the arts element of the Department may be left behind. Arts was a big fish in a small pond but now the pond is bigger and the concern at that change is legitimate and justified. We urge the Government to reconsider its departmental configurations to ensure that the arts sector is a priority during this term of Government.

A vibrant arts and cultural scene is at the heart of a good life and a strong and vibrant community. Despite being a small country, our strong tradition of literature, music, theatre, festival and dance has placed us on the global stage, copper-fastening Ireland's influence on the arts across the world. It is, therefore, essential that the arts community here at home is given the support and the recognition that it needs. The Minister feels the concerns are not justified and that there will be no change. Many want change and feel that neither this Government nor the administration in office from 2011 to 2016 had sufficient regard for the arts. If the portfolio is diluted, it is the arts that must lose out in terms of ministerial priorities.

Since 1993, when Michael D. Higgins became the first Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht at Cabinet, it has had a lead role in Cabinet. After almost a quarter of a century, this has now changed. This may not be the Minister's decision but it is a bad one. It is particularly unfortunate that this should happen during the centenary of 1916. As the National Campaign for the Arts pointed out:

The leaders of 1916 were poets and artists. They understood the importance of the Arts in national life. It is an irony that seems completely lost on this government that they have chosen the Centenary of the Rising to push the Arts further into a comer ... The Arts need a strong voice at the cabinet table.

This year, as in so many other years, the arts have again made Irish people proud. It is time now for the Government to reciprocate and do the arts proud. The Government is not opposing our motion today but I hope it will go beyond that and act on the motion if it is passed by the House.

In tabling this motion on the arts, I am more anxious to celebrate the arts in our country than to denigrate the Government or Minister with whom I share a constituency. Arts policy should be centred on three principles: protecting the independence of the arts community; ensuring a stable, sustainable and secure funding model for the arts; and enabling full community engagement and benefit from State arts funding.

It is my hope that this motion can serve to maximise a political consensus behind the arts. Nowhere is that more important than Culture 2025. I recently called for the forthcoming Culture 2025 strategy to be considered, discussed and voted on by the Dáil before its formal adoption as the official policy of the State. Our motion today incorporates this call. We believe this is a crucial strategy, which will underpin the role of culture in our society and set out the direction of State policy for the next decade. Given the significance of this strategy, it is essential it is supported across the board. The Minister should publish the draft programme so it can be discussed with invited stakeholders in committee in the Oireachtas. Then, if necessary, it can be revised and enhanced by all parties. I want to see a strategy which has definitive targets allied with a real funding allocation. I acknowledge that it may not be possible to get the backing of the Oireachtas but we should strive to get the maximum level of cross party support. This policy should not be the exclusive property of the Government or the Department - it belongs to all of us.

While at this stage we do not propose setting a benchmark for arts investment related to national income, in our election manifesto we pledged year-on-year increases in funding for the arts and we remain committed to that. We certainly accept that funding is too low at this point. The response of the Arts Council to its original budget 2016 allocation was stark and unqualified. The Arts Council chair spoke of it with great disappointment and said it was "a devastating blow to artists and arts organisations already struggling to survive and present work of the highest quality to people across Ireland". She went on to say:

The Government continues to assert that Ireland is a hub of creativity, innovation and flexible thinking, and a smart place to invest in. Credible investment in the arts and culture sector is a vital demonstration of this commitment. I feel that the announcement of our funding today undermines that commitment.

A subsequent additional allocation of €1 million was made in December 2015 but it is clear that the arts and the Arts Council remain underfunded. Arts Council funding is still €25 million less than what was allocated in 2008. Fianna Fáil believes that rapid progress should be made in successive budgets to increase our allocation to the arts. Increasing funding does not mean we would seek greater control. For more than 50 years, the Arts Council has been tasked with generating cultural policy. It has commissioned expert reports and made recommendations in the areas of education, local government, arts participation and audience development. I reiterate the commitment of my party to the arm's length principle which promotes the Arts Council's autonomy in disbursing State funding to artists and arts organisations. This principle allows the Arts Council and its expert arts personnel to assess grant applications and make independent, informed decisions according to agreed and clear criteria.

Given the Government's increasing tendency to centralise funding within the Department of the Arts, this arm's length principle is more important than ever.

This leads me to Culture Ireland, which was set up in 2005 with the remit to promote Irish arts and culture internationally. Culture Ireland has ensured the continual presence of Ireland abroad. Prior to 2005, Ireland was the only country in the EU not to have a dedicated body promoting its cultural profile internationally and despite subsequent funding cuts to Culture Ireland, it attempted to keep non-commercial Irish art and culture visible on the international stage.

My party opposed the previous Government's decision in 2012 to merge its functions into the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. This decision was made as part of the Government's reform plan under the guise of streamlining State bodies. We saw this move as one of several steps taken that have undermined the autonomy and independence of arts promotion and provision outside the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. We favour the reinstatement of a structure which would allow Culture Ireland to work closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, IDA Ireland and Tourism Ireland while maintaining its integrity as a body with artistic expertise.

Expertise in any area benefits from early intervention. One of my main priorities is to enhance arts provision in the education system. In 2008, the Arts Council published a report by the Special Committee on the Arts and Education which began, "Arts provision for children and young people both in and out of school is arguably the single greatest fault line in our cultural provision". With more than 800,000 citizens of school-going age in Ireland, this must be a headline arts priority.

Having been involved in the implementation of the Arts in Education Charter in setting up the local arts in education partnership in schools in Cavan and Monaghan, this is an objective I am particularly keen to progress. It is essential that we work with both the artists and the audiences of the future to create and maintain an appreciation for the arts. It is crucial that we build on the Arts in Education Charter and ensure that arts provision is enhanced across the education sector, beginning at primary level. There also needs to be greater co-operation between the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Department of Education and Skills and the Arts Council so that funding for projects can be secured and rolled out effectively.

However well intentioned, many of the initiatives in the arts and education area rely on the publicly-funded artists and organisations to donate time to education projects. Instead of relying on these ad hocdonations, Fianna Fáil sees an urgent need to increase the joined-up thinking between the Arts Council, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Department of Education and Skills in a more strategic way. We want to see the formalising of the advisory role of the Arts Council to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. We also see a need to establish an advisory role for the national cultural institutions so that their expertise can feed into the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. There should also be a dedicated national arts in education development unit.

The arts are crucial to everyday life in Ireland. In tabling this motion today, I have sought to put it centre stage in political life. I hope today will be the first of many debates that we have on the arts. I commend the motion to the House and I look forward to hearing the contributions of all Deputies.

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