Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Arts Council is the statutory body charged with supporting and developing the arts under the Arts Act 2003. Under section 24(2) of the Act, the Arts Council is independent in its funding decisions and the Minister is statutorily precluded from intervening. The Arts Council offers a wide range of schemes that provide funding to artists and arts organisations. These include the festival investment scheme which is a competitive scheme that offers funding to support the staging of festivals on a non-recurring basis.

The Deputy may wish to note that under budget 2023, the Minister, Deputy Martin, has maintained the Arts Council allocation of €130 million. This allocation will allow the Arts Council to continue to protect jobs and livelihoods of artists and assist arts organisations through the cost-of-living crisis. With such assistance and the support of the public, the core infrastructure of the arts in Ireland has survived. This ongoing public funding in 2023 allows the Arts Council to continue its support for artists and arts organisations. Budget 2023 and the cost-of-living package deliver a range of supports to the tourism, culture, Gaeltacht, sports and media sectors across Ireland.

The measures announced under the budget on Tuesday resulted from ongoing dialogue and engagement between officials in my Department and the sectors and communities which come under our remit. Budget 2023 is unprecedented, compared to recent years, with increasing uncertainty in the face of rising energy costs, inflation and economic uncertainty. Together we have provided supports to help these important sectors survive through the rapidly-increasing energy costs they face. In the case of Arts Council funding, this budget will not doubt assist the council to address significant costs and challenges for artists, arts workers and arts organisations.

It is important that the arm's-length principal of funding of the arts be maintained. We cannot overstate the importance of the Arts Council's status as an independent agency where funding decisions are taken at arm's length from the political system. This ensures that artists continue to have the freedom to create and express their art, including views and even criticism that we, as politicians, might not necessarily embrace.

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