Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the increase in funding but that does not take from the stark figures. The European average for arts funding is 1% of gross domestic product and Ireland is at 0.6%.

I appreciate the Minister might not have received a formal letter from this group but her Department would be fully aware of the group, as would the organisation Galway 2020. The facts speak for themselves. The average salary of a dancer is €10,000 and that could be somebody who is recognised internationally as the best in their field. One third of performing artists live precarious lives. One third earn less than the minimum wage of €9.55 an hour. These are established and acclaimed artists.

My time is limited. All of these figures are stark and, if anything was to come out of today, I would like it to be that the Minister will meet this group on the ground, not just about Galway 2020, but also about sustainable lives for artists. This Government relies on artists and rolls them out for photo shoots and photocalls.

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