Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)

I have had a vision for the arts for many years. It did not start yesterday. Rather than having one of these academic visions, I have a practical vision. In my town, when I realised we had some great writers there who were not properly represented, I decided to go ahead and set up a literary centre for them and to honour them in other ways, such as with documentaries for RTE. I have a vision that might differ from the intellectual or academic vision but it is practical. Like Senator Norris, I was impressed by Tech Amergin and my vision is for the arts in the whole country, not just in Kerry or Dublin. Unfortunately in the past, the vision of policy in this country was not geographically inclusive. People throughout the country are entitled to access to quality performances in good venues, whether they are in Donegal, Clare or Dublin.

It is to the credit of both Houses of the Oireachtas that they have found common purpose in prioritising the national cultural institutions this week and I am pleased to be here to address the House on this issue. It is my fourth time in the Seanad since becoming Minister and I have always found the debates here to be informed, compelling and insightful. I spent four years in the Seanad, from 1983 to 1987, and sat with people like our current President, Michael D. Higgins, the current Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, and many others who made it in politics afterwards, including the former President, Mary Robinson. There were some interesting debates on the arts back then as well.

My starting principle is that the periodic examination of organisations, especially those receiving money from the taxpayer, is a healthy and necessary exercise. This should be done at all levels of Government. While I am in this position, I want to make them better and for them to give a better service to the community, the taxpayer who funds them and the consumer. The Government recognises this principle and the taxpayer deserves nothing less than our acknowledgement of it.

The public service reform plan published by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, against which backdrop this debate is taking place, aims to deliver enhanced public services. The plan notes that shared services can potentially transform the competitiveness of State bodies and that sharing functions like human resources, IT, payroll, procurement and other services will yield long-term savings.

Institutions funded by the taxpayer, through my Department, are part of the public service reform plan. Our arts and culture define us as a nation; they are what set us apart. They differentiate us in a world of growing sameness. They are our badge of honour, our greatest ambassadors, and their reputation has endured and grown when our reputation in other spheres has been diminished. They have contributed a great deal in the last four years to repairing a tarnished image of us worldwide, especially in New York, Europe and elsewhere.

This Government is hugely supportive of our arts and of our cultural institutions. Since the downturn, very significant cuts have been made to our arts and culture budgets. In 2012, as Minister, I ensured the reduction in day-to-day Exchequer funding for our arts and our cultural institutions was the smallest reduction since 2009. I do not put this forward in any way as a point of self congratulation, I am simply reiterating that the funding for these institutions has never been more difficult.