Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for their contributions today. I am heartened by the engagement we have seen on the Bill. The various issues raised will be considered further in the Department as the Bill makes its way through the House.

Having reflected on the contributions, I note that this is a technical Bill which provides for the legislation underpinning the transfer of the National Symphony Orchestra and choirs from RTÉ to the National Concert Hall. Its main provisions are to amend the functions of the National Concert Hall to include the management of an orchestra and choirs. It is an important recognition of the newly expanded remit of the National Concert Hall now that the National Symphony Orchestra and choirs have transferred to it and are operating fully within its administrative structures.

Second, the Bill will ensure that the board of the National Concert Hall is enlarged to include an additional board member and that at least one of the members must have experience of and expertise in the development of orchestras. This is a most welcome development, as it will endow the board with the knowledge required to fully support the orchestra as it is restored to its full playing strength under the National Concert Hall. The Bill also contains standard provisions regarding the transfer of staff, property, liabilities and legal undertakings in regard to the orchestra and choirs from RTÉ to the National Concert Hall.

The Bill provides for an amendment to the statutory functions of RTÉ under the broadcasting Acts. RTÉ is no longer required to manage multiple orchestras, but rather just the RTÉ National Concert Orchestra. The transfer of the NSO and this Bill mark an important next step in delivering the National Concert Hall's vision of being an inspiring and world-renowned music destination, accessible to all and enriching the cultural landscape of Ireland. The NSO, as Ireland's premier orchestra, is central to delivering on this vision which, coupled with the ambitious redevelopment plans for the National Concert Hall under the national development plan, will see it transform into the pre-eminent centre for music in Ireland.

Deputy Boyd Barrett raised concerns which I had somewhat addressed in my opening statement about staff. I have always recognised the need to build the staff up to full capacity. On the transfer, we had 54 musicians and nine ancillary staff, who moved from RTÉ to the National Concert Hall. Since then, the National Concert Hall has worked diligently to begin the process of returning the orchestra to its full playing strength. In recent months my Department has sanctioned the filling of a number of vacant positions within the orchestra and choirs - the music librarian, six musician posts, namely, the orchestra leader and first violin, as well as section leaders for percussion, double bass, horns and timpani, as well as bass trombone principal, all of which are permanent positions. The National Concert Hall has also received sanction for 26 fixed-term guest musician contracts, and contract extensions for four choral co-ordinators along with the HR staff support for this increased recruitment activity. The National Concert Hall is now in the process of recruiting for these roles through specialist classical music recruitment channels, to ensure the artistic vision of the orchestra is another step closer to being realised. We will continue to support the orchestra and the National Concert Hall to recruit permanent positions in 2023 and beyond.

In response to Deputy Ó Cathasaigh, the national well-being framework includes cultural expression as an important dimension of well-being. My Department, with officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of the Taoiseach are working together to identify new indicators to expand our understanding of culture and well-being in Ireland.

Also in response to Deputy Ó Cathasaigh, bringing the NSO and the choirs within the National Concert Hall provides access to greater administrative support in terms of programming, outreach, marketing and in-person operation. This also includes proximity to several other musical organisations. Chamber Choir Ireland and the Irish Baroque Orchestra were mentioned by the Deputy. That will provide opportunities for collaboration and much-needed joined-up thinking.

In terms of outreach, the Creative Youth element of the Creative Ireland programme is a key pillar of the next five years. It will bring investment from my Department and the Department of Education directly into schools across the country. As someone who taught in a DEIS school for 16 years, I understand the need to reach out and to give opportunities to be exposed to music of all genres but as Deputy Ó Snodaigh stated, also the opportunity to have access to instruments and to play them. That is a sentiment I share. Creative Schools has reached more DEIS schools since I became Minister. Deputies Ó Snodaigh and Gannon, and possibly Deputy Boyd Barrett as well, spoke about outreach. The National Symphony Orchestra will be involved in the National Concert Hall education programmes in 2023. The National Concert Hall already has an extensive outreach programme. For example, events are organised in children's hospitals around the country, as well as programmes for audiences with dementia. There is significant opportunity in the redevelopment of the campus. There is a vision for further outreach and additional education programmes. The National Concert Hall redevelopment is a flagship project in my Department. I envisage increased public access to music performances and programmes.

To respond to Deputy Ó Snodaigh in respect of traditional Irish music, we have a shared vision regarding the outreach of all music and I have it in buckets when it comes to traditional Irish music. I was delighted recently to allocate an additional €150,000 to the Fleadh Cheoil in Mullingar as a signal of the value I place on traditional Irish music.

On the point made by Deputies Ó Murchú and Boyd Barrett, SIPTU and Irish Equity have raised the issue of compliance with copyright legislation and, in particular, with the new EU directive on copyright as it applies in the audiovisual industry. It was raised at the meeting of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight last night. In the first instance, my colleague the Tánaiste is responsible for the implementation and compliance, and breaches of copyright are a matter for his Department. Copyright is a complex area, but I understand SIPTU and Irish Equity made some suggestions to the Committee on Budgetary Oversight regarding dealing with the protection of intellectual property within the film tax relief. I have asked my officials to follow up and meet with SIPTU and Irish Equity to discuss and examine those very issues.

To respond to Deputy Gannon and others on diversifying the concert hall, I might point to last weekend and the spectacular event with the haunted dancefloor experience in the concert hall. There were two very late nights as part of the night-time economy pilot. They went on until about 2.45 a.m. or 3 a.m., attracting very different crowds who had never before walked through those doors. That is what it is all about, namely, seeing the value of what we have at the heart of our capital city and reaching out to audiences of all sorts with all types of music. I visited the concert hall yesterday, and the board members were very excited about that weekend and loved that experience in the presence of the new audiences. I hope to see more of that with the expansion of the night-time economy.

Deputy Boyd Barrett asked about the budget. Arts Council funding has been doubled since 2017, which I did in the first budget I had, and we have that €6 million for the night-time economy. There is the game changer of the basic income scheme and we are leading the way as a country in how we value our artists, with every arts genre and every county included. Moreover, next year's culture allocation is 82% higher than that of 2020.

We are continuing to engage with stakeholders about the needs of the commercial industry, but the Covid schemes that were in place were a response to public health restrictions, when doors were closed and performers were not performing. This time last year, people could not go to nightclubs and there were restricted audiences. We were debating whether people could stand or sit and that led to restrictions for performers. By contrast, people can go out tonight, perform and enjoy performances. The supports were specific to Covid.

Nevertheless, I have that money for the night-time economy and the basic income scheme. We are continuing the engagement and those commercial venues will benefit from the horizontal supports. We are in different times compared with last year. They were Covid-specific supports when there was a shutdown in the sector. From the very beginning, we were trying to support online performances and so on, whereas now it is about the basic income scheme and developing the night-time economy. As I said, I have held on to the €130 million for the Arts Council, but we are continuing the engagement and we will meet some of the groups the Deputy mentioned.

To return to the Bill, as I outlined, it is a technical Bill that will provide for the transfer of functions from RTÉ to the NCH. I again thank Deputies for their engagement. My officials have taken note of the many issues they raised and I am sure these will form part of our considerations. I request that Deputies who intend to table amendments to the Bill give us sight of them because I would like to undertake as much constructive engagement as possible in advance in order that we can give them due consideration. The Bill represents an important step forward in the journey of both the orchestra and the NCH. It is a critical part of the National Concert Hall's ambitious vision for the development of symphonic music, with the restored symphony orchestra taking its place in a 21st-century concert hall. The legislation will enable the NCH to commence the process of returning the orchestra to full strength and empower it to deliver on the recommendations outlined in the Boaden report. I acknowledge the hard work of my officials in preparing the Bill, which I am pleased to introduce to the Dáil. I look forward to it making steady progress through the Oireachtas and commend it to the House.

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