Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Earlier this year, the Theatre Forum outlined the widespread poverty and lack of income and employment security among artists and people working in the arts. Prior to the budget, the National Campaign for the Arts pleaded with the Minister to honour the Taoiseach's commitment to double arts spending, which has merely crept upwards. The most recent budget saw a very marginal increase in arts funding which will do nothing to address the widespread poverty and income and employment insecurity facing artists and people working in the arts. I have repeatedly pointed out to the Minister that film crew in this country enjoy absolutely no income or employment security. Why was the budget so poor in this regard and what is the Minister going to do to address this issue?

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