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

Unfortunately, the provision of €3 million a year nationally will not go very far in terms of acquiring premises. Considering the price of premises in the Dublin area, something needs to be done. I acknowledge the work that has been done by the arts officer in Dublin City Council but the problem is that demand is far outstripping supply. We need to look at new ways of bringing vacant buildings on stream, especially those that are in the ownership of the State. Closed Garda stations, closed banks and such places could be brought into use as community facilities for visual artists who are desperately seeking space. The potential is huge in terms of people being able to earn a living working in the arts. We need a Government plan to do that, particularly in the capital, so that we can be very clear about where we are going and that we do not adopt a scatter-gun approach.

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