Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Minister is aware that there is a thriving arts community in Ireland. I know she has met various people. We had a searing presentation a couple of weeks ago from mostly young people working in the arts outlining how precarious and low their income was. The Minister chose to go back to the bank collapse in this country. Happily, I was part of the Government that got the country out of the mess it was in but we do not have time to debate that now. Now, on the Minister's watch, young people in the arts are increasingly finding it next to impossible to make a decent living. Does the Department have a policy? Does the Minister have a policy for practitioners and people working in the arts? What we heard in the recent presentation in the AV room would draw a tear from a stone. Young people cannot afford rent because they are working in the arts. They love what they do but they need a living wage. Older people in the arts literally cannot afford rent and cannot qualify for social housing. I am asking the Minister to get engaged.

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