Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for that information and those initiatives are certainly welcome. We have seen in recent years, especially as the commercial property market starts to bounce back, that a number of premises, especially in Dublin city, have been lost to the artistic community. I refer to places such as the Broadstone Studios, The Joinery in Stoneybatter and Block T in Smithfield. All those premises have been lost.

If we consider the cities to which our creative artists emigrate, both London and Berlin, for example, have very clear policies on providing space for artists and, in that way, not only do they hugely enhance the artistic and creative atmosphere in the city, they also contribute very significantly towards job creation. We know that 11% of the workforce in Berlin works in the creative field. There is huge potential in this area and we need to further invest in it.

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