Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

No information has been given on Theatre 57. I appreciate the Minister's comments about Druid and An Taibhdhearc. Indeed, d'oibrigh mé go crua chun an Taibhdhearc a choinnéal i gcroí-lár na chathrach. This is a specific question about a group of people and I am disappointed to hear the Minister has had no engagement with them and I hope that she will today confirm she will have contact with them. This is a group of performing artists who have come together about sustainable careers for artists in Galway. The group now comprises 82 members who are involved in theatre in a range of roles. They have no permanent rehearsal space, nowhere to have meetings, no office space and no guaranteed funding, despite Galway's reputation as Ireland's capital of culture. The careers they have are precarious and they believe that Galway's cultural reputation is not sustainable unless front-line artists are acknowledged and supported. They are concerned about the commodification of the arts and value being put on it for the economy, which is good, but not value on art for art's sake. That is the group I am talking about.

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