Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)

The arts and culture budget received an actual cut in budget 2026. It went from just above €300,000 to under €300,000. There was a lot of fanfare about the basic income for the arts and that expansion is welcome. However, that fanfare has masked what is happening to arts and cultural funding, which is that there will be less next year than this year. Arts Council funding is crucial to supporting arts practice in Ireland. It is a crucial lifeline in promoting and sustaining the best of artists in this country. Last year it supported 1,800 individuals and 588 organisations. There is a real concern that with this cut to arts and culture current expenditure funding, the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, and the Government are intent on punishing the Arts Council because of the IT crisis that emerged earlier this year. I want to hear from the Tánaiste what assurances he can provide to artists that Arts Council funding will not be cut in 2026 and that we will see the same volume, or more, given to the practice of arts in this country.

See this speech in context