Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Seanad Éireann---- recognising the significant contribution that a vibrant arts and culture sector makes to the Irish nation;
- acknowledging the positive impact on the economy and employment of our wider arts sector, contributing €4.7 billion to the economy and directly and indirectly supporting 79,000 jobs;
- noting that in the period 2005 to 2010 alone more than €1.1 billion was invested in the sector;
- highlighting that these funds facilitated a transformation in our national, regional and community arts and culture infrastructure, performance venues and film and television production capacity;
- recognising the need to protect and promote our cultural heritage as we approach the centenary of the 1916 Rising; and
- agreeing that independence and autonomy of the arts sector is crucial, that political interference should be avoided and that the "arm’s length" principle should be reaffirmed;calls on the Government to---- develop a new national strategy for the arts sector to build on the significant advances made in the past 20 years;
- outline detailed plans for the commemoration of the centenary of the 1916 Rising;
- protect our national cultural institutions from further budget cuts in 2015; and
- guarantee the independence of our national cultural institutions and their boards from political interference.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. The foregoing motion deals specifically with the arts. The Minister has had something of a baptism of fire in the sector. Let us look back at what most of us would agree is an important sector of our country and our heritage and one in which my party has a proud record. We are concerned at how in recent years, before the Minister took over, funding for the Arts Council was drastically reduced. This Government does not seem to hold the arts and culture sectors of the country in any regard whatsoever.
Let us consider the record of previous Governments: the establishment of Aosdána, tax exemptions for creative writers and artists, removing VAT from books, establishing the now famous Irish Museum of Modern Art and the National Concert Hall, providing funding for the Millennium Wing of the National Gallery, converting Collins Barracks for use by the National Museum of Ireland, providing funding for the Wexford Opera House, establishing Temple Bar as a cultural quarter, establishing Culture Ireland to promote Irish culture abroad, enacting tax relief for filming and establishing arts and cultural performance centres throughout the country.
I wish the Minister well in her job but I believe the Government really needs to reaffirm itself in this area because of the damage done prior to the Minister's taking over. Let us set aside the political damage that has been done to Fine Gael, the Taoiseach and the Minister. Damage has been done to our arts and cultural sector, and those involved believe their independence has been undermined in many ways by the actions of the Government or those of an unnamed and unknown Fine Gael party official. That is simply one aspect of the matter, to which I will return.
I implore the Minister, in the run-up to the budget next week, to consider reversing some of the savage cuts that have been brought about in this sector. Do we want to be a society or do we want to be an economy? All of us, regardless of what side of the House we are on, value the importance of our national heritage, culture and arts. Since 2011 we have seen the ongoing dumbing down of this sector by the Fine Gael and Labour Party Government. In particular, what has occurred during recent weeks with the John McNulty affair has further degraded and debased the arts and culture sectors, let alone this House and the Oireachtas.
First and foremost I would like the Minister to get back to doing her job, and I imagine she shares my view. I have a large degree of sympathy for the situation that the Minister was put in. We all know about the coincidences to which the Taoiseach has referred in respect of the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Let us consider the reportage on the matter from yesterday evening. One disappointing aspect from the perspective of those in the arts and culture sector is that they maintain that what happened in recent weeks is simply an example of how the Government has treated the sector. What the Minister has been endeavouring to do in recent weeks is to treat this sector as if belonged to her, or as if Fine Gael owned the sector and could play with these boards as they wished.