Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

At the conclusion of the Seanad's consideration of this Bill, the Minister wants to express his sincerest thanks for the manner in which Senators from all sides of the House participated in the debate which was informed and sincere. The level of engagement demonstrated yet again just how important the arts were. Although concerns were expressed about elitism or perceptions of elitism, what came across to the Minister clearly during the debate was that the arts were already a part of the lives of people from all social groups and in all areas. Furthermore, it was confirmed to him that there was an unprecedented level of interest in participation in all sectors of the arts. If we provide facilities, they are used. People enthusiastically participate in arts related events without any effort on the part of officialdom to push them in that direction. The young, in particular, seem to find the arts almost their natural medium. It comes naturally to them to embrace the arts.

The Minister said on Second Stage that snobbery should never dictate what we regarded as art or who should be involved in the arts. It is equally important that we avoid any reverse snobbery that would exclude or downgrade what have traditionally been seen as the less accessible artistic forms. Every art form has its place. The Minister believes that if people enjoy something, are challenged or stimulated by it or draw inspiration from it, that is of value. We are not in the business of excluding anyone – there is enough room at the table for all.

We heard well thought out, measured and mostly constructive contributions on the issue of the traditional arts, for which the Minister is grateful. I emphasise again his main concerns with regard to this issue. He is a passionate supporter of the traditional arts and can readily understand and empathise with the sense of grievance evident in the sector. He believes decisive and effective action must be taken to respond to this. The fact that he departed from the original approach of the Bill in this context does not in any way imply that he disagreed with what the Bill was trying to do but simply that he believed that a different approach would yield a better result. He is convinced that the mechanism being provided for in the Bill can achieve what needs to be achieved and is determined that this will be followed through. It must be remembered also that the mechanisms now provided for in the Bill do not in any way restrict the Minister to having just one go at this. We can come back to it as many times as are necessary and work on it for as long as we need to make sure that real change happens.

Soon, I am glad to say, we will have a new Arts Act, the first for many years, and shortly thereafter a new Arts Council. The Minister knows that the funding position this year has caused difficulties for many but we must remember that this is set against a background of unprecedented levels of funding over the past five years. He remains convinced that the arts are more vibrant, imaginative and alive than at any time in our history and that the sector has an extremely bright future.