Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I was going to ask the Minister a number of questions but perhaps I will just make a number of comments. As I listened to her and previous Governments, the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance comes to mind. I refer to the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs or attitudes especially in relation to behaviour. We treasure the arts on a national and international basis but then practically we give them very little. I think cognitive dissonance absolutely captures that.

I have to hand a speech from the Minister's colleague, her predecessor as Minister, Deputy Humphreys, from almost four years ago. She stated, "...we state clearly that supporting culture and creativity is vital if we want to create both a fairer society and a thriving economy." She went on to say something which I am sure the Minister would endorse tonight. She stated, "The arts are absolutely essential to the wellbeing of the Irish people and there is no doubt that a thriving arts and culture sector makes a hugely positive contribution."

Yet, when we look at the proportion of our GDP, it is 0.1%. I welcome the Covid payments and the other wage subsidy payments to the extent that the artists can benefit from that. The Minister took exception to the countries mentioned, so I will mention Scotland.

Scotland announced three funds comprising £12.5 million for its population of just under 6 million. That works out at £2.29 per head of population. Ireland announced €1 million, 50% of which was already committed. That works out at 20 cents a head. The Minister could make a comparison between the two.

Will the Minister commit to meeting with the National Campaign for the Arts if she has not already done so? It has seven very practical points. It is asking for €20 million, recognition of the crisis and a long-term plan.

To go back to cognitive dissonance, I took part in a debate today in which the figure of €12 billion for small businesses was mentioned by the same Minister. I fully endorse that. Such businesses are the backbone of our society. The document produced by John Moran, of the Land Development Agency fame, talks about €15 billion and says that, while it is very expensive, we cannot afford not to do it. Yet we look at the arts and talk about a tiny amount of money. We are not giving recognition to the importance of arts to the economy, not to mention anything else. It is ironic that one of the bestsellers at the moment is The Plagueby Albert Camus from 1947. That tells us something, does it not? It is a bestseller at the moment. We resort to art, including literature and music, all of the time. This has all been said.

My difficulty is that I am really tired of spin. I understand the Minister has a job to do but, at some stage, we must make language mean something. I have made this point numerous times in my short time here in the Dáil. If we value the arts and realise how important they are to us - and we certainly have in recent months - we must put an economic value on that and put forward a long-term plan that ensures the viability of the sector.

I have many documents in front of me but I will refer to one, which is titled "Review of Arts Centres and Venues", published last year. It is a very practical document for local authorities. It pointed out the good points but also pointed out what was missing. The National Campaign for the Arts has also done this. It made it very simple for us as regards Galway. It made five points about providing a space to perform, a space to learn and a space to share. It also made a few other points in that regard. In a very practical and simple way, it told us what was necessary.

Will the Minister please meet with the campaign? It represents many organisations on the ground and approximately 23,000 artists. It is not looking for charity or even for a handout. These artists are looking to survive so that we can continue to thrive because of our artists. That is all I am asking of the Minister tonight. Can we please stop with the spin? I thank her for her contribution as regards what has been given so far but it is not being done in context because they will not survive unless urgent action is taken.

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