Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann resolves that the Arts (Recognition of Comedy) (Amendment) Bill 2024 be deemed to be read a second time this day eighteen months, on the grounds that this amendment is premature as the Minister proposes to await the report of the Expert Advisory Committee on the Arts Council before giving consideration to what legislative changes to the Arts Act 2003 would be appropriate.".

I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for his opening comments. The Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, is unavailable, unfortunately, to be here this evening due to prior commitments and sends his apologies. He has asked me to step in in his absence.

The Government continues its support for the arts and culture and places great value on culture and the arts sector. In the programme for Government, we recognise that they are essential to a well-rounded society, providing opportunity for education, expression and community engagement. The arts and culture programme of the Minister's Department aims to support the development of the arts, culture and creativity by individuals and communities. The provision of over €384 million in budget 2026 for the arts and culture programme will maintain and increase funding right across a range of key initiatives. In particular, the Minister will bring a successor scheme for the basic income for the arts pilot to Government with the intention of embedding a permanent basic income in the arts and culture sector. Support also continues in 2026 for the national cultural institutions, Culture Ireland and Creative Ireland. Screen Ireland's funding has also been increased to support its work in making Ireland a competitive destination for Screen Ireland production.

Regarding the Arts Council, in budget 2026, the Minister maintained record funding for the council. This is in the context of funding for the Arts Council having increased by over 130% since 2015. However, the Minister wants to await the outcome of the ongoing external review before considering further increasing the Arts Council's budget. As the Deputies will be aware, the Arts Council 2023 annual report and financial statements were submitted to Government last February with a report on the unsuccessful IT project at the council. This project, which failed to deliver - at a cost of €6.675 million - has given rise to fundamental questions about governance within the Arts Council. While the report on the ICT project clearly sets out the background to the project, it also points to a broader range of more fundamental questions about governance and culture within the Arts Council. Accordingly, the Minister subsequently set up an external review of the governance and the organisational culture in the Arts Council to Government. He appointed three experts with a strong background in governance of large and complex organisations to the committee, namely, Professor Niamh Brennan, who is the chair, and Dr. Margaret Cullen and Mr. John McCarthy. The Minister is grateful for their efforts in undertaking this critical task and looks forward to receiving their recommendations. He has also been clear about the failures that must be addressed to safeguard public funding and prevent a recurrence of issues that have arisen. This review is essential in addressing failings within the Arts Council and to put it on a solid footing for the future so that it can continue to perform the very valuable role in supporting and developing Irish arts and culture.

Alongside the review, the Arts Council has continued its day-to-day work in supporting Irish artists during the review process, and the Minister is very clear that artists will not suffer due to the failings of the council. To restore trust and confidence in the Arts Council, its corporate governance framework must be fit for purpose to support the delivery of its statutory responsibilities. Assurance is required that the culture of the Arts Council, at all levels, is open, transparent and engaged with all stakeholders both internal and external and in a manner that is appropriate to its statutory remit to deliver the arts.

As the Minister has said previously at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, once the review of the governance of culture in the Arts Council is concluded, it is his intention to examine how the activities of the Arts Council can be widened to support more art forms. He has made it clear, and he will continue to do so, that he wants to see a more inclusive approach adopted by the Arts Council and a wider range of art forms funded and supported, with no form excluded from support, including comedy. He intends to enable the Arts Council to modernise and adapt to both the cultural and artistic needs of Ireland going forward. To commence this process, the Minister has asked his officials to engage with the Arts Council to begin consideration on how it will widen the range of art forms it supports.

While the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, agrees with the intent of Deputy Ó Snodaigh's Bill, he believes that it is best to address this as part of the broader reform of the Arts Council. Accordingly, he intends to await the report from the expert advisory committee on the Arts Council, which is due for completion in the coming weeks. Given the scale of the failings within the Arts Council, it is vital that the response is not only comprehensive but also far-reaching and underpinned by transparent and rigorous analysis. The Minister will then consider how best to progress the report's recommendations, including making any appropriate amendments to the Arts Act 2003. For this reason, the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, believes it is prudent to defer further consideration until the outcome of the review from the expert advisory committee. To facilitate that, the Government has agreed that a timed amendment of 18 months to this Bill is necessary.

Again, on my behalf and that of the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for his interest in this matter. The Minister looks forward to working with him on a broader package of reforms for the Arts Council in due course.

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