Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. Nobody could disagree in general with his statement. There are two choices in a time of challenge. First, one can become negative and not respond to a challenge in a positive way. The other choice is to realise there is a challenge and a responsibility on everyone to respond to it in a positive way.

We have had some exceptionally good times in Ireland. During the Celtic tiger period we saw the arts and cultural infrastructure grow in a significant way. Added to this is voluntarism. We often underestimate what it means in many of the great projects we have had. While one cannot put a monetary value on voluntarism, there is a sense of ownership which volunteers have when they are involved. One can point to progress made on the road and rail networks and employment levels. However, to have real quality of life and people happy and constructive, one needs to have arts and cultural events in the greater community.

Mention was made of Senator Fiach Mac Conghail and the Abbey Theatre. The high standard of drama productions there has had a good-feeling impact on the wider community and visitors to the country. If one is promoting a business, the worst that can happen is people feel they do not get value for money. Having a visitor to Ireland have a good cultural experience is very important.

Ireland is very good when it comes to donations to charities. Between 2009 and 2011, in the midst of the recession, there was still a major increase in donations to charities. The main donations are for emergencies. If one looks at the American system of giving - that is why I understand the former US President Bill Clinton believes it is a good one - one will see up to €300 billion coming from corporate bodies for the promotion of the arts and culture. Ireland's corporate donation rate is less than 1%. There is a need for education in this regard and for corporate Ireland to understand what it means to develop civil society, as well as how important it is to its work and the happiness of its employees. It is interesting how infectious this becomes.

The One Percent Difference campaign is a practical idea that provides a focus. What is important is getting the message across to the broader public. I am sure the Minister will not mind if I take one small example from Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.

This year 430,000 people turned up in Derry for the Fleadh Cheoil. What were important were the messages which went with it, as for the first time the PSNI marching band was able to play in public. I regarded it as a privilege to go to the Waterside to meet the loyalist bands and present them with an award on the platform. We have been toing and froing since. I refer to this because one can have all the plans, policies and megaphone diplomacy one likes, but what is important is interacting with the community. Approximately 9,000 people were listening to the loyalist bands when they were performing on stage. A member of one of the bands told me that it was a good experience for them and stated they would show the lads in Belfast how to behave themselves. That was interesting coming from one member of a loyalist band speaking about another issue. I will not make any judgment on what is happening in Belfast.

The same applies to community arts activities with regard to interaction. When a play is staged in a local community, the entire community gets involved, not just the people on stage. In the same way that people speak about the all-Ireland hurling and football finals for days afterwards, they will speak about the play and the characters. The same applies to a local museum or heritage centre. There are such ideas and they are not pie in the sky.

The Minister is right to exhort us as legislators to get business to back civil society. This means engaging with the community. We should get communities speaking about this concept. These are not unrealisable goals and the bar has not been raised too high. It is doable. It may be a new approach, but most of it is already followed in essence and the question is how to build the structure. We should find some way of engaging with corporate Ireland and I do not mean through begging letters. To do this, we must come up with a message which is productive in order that people will see the value of increasing their contribution. The only reason they have not been doing so to any great extent is it has not been part of our culture. It is part of the culture in the United States, from where we have so much to learn. Those of us who travel back and forth to meet the Irish community see how they have bought in to the culture when it comes to corporate giving to civil society. This should be our first port of call, as well as approaching individuals.

I have no doubt that corporate Ireland would respond positively if this were put to it in a cogent and constructive way. There is something in it for businesses. We must also ensure they are acknowledged. No one can blame any business or firm wanting acknowledgement. We must be generous in our acknowledgement, depending on where the money goes. I have often seen businesses giving money and it has just been taken. There are very simple ways of providing for an acknowledgement locally and it should be possible to do this. Television programmes such as the weather forceast have a product attached to it; in this case I believe it is Avonmore cream. This has become part of how television services raise money. I do not suggest we should be quite this extreme, but there are subtle ways of providing for an acknowledgement.

I compliment the Minister. I hope everything will be positive in our response. I would, however, go one step further.

In that context, as a united political grouping we should seek to sell this back to the wider community in a proactive way.