Susan O'Keeffe (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators and the Minister for a healthy conversation. It is always good to have culture and the arts discussed in the House, which has a long tradition of being interested in and caring about this sector. There is much work to be done, particularly with Thoor Ballylee as Senator Healy Eames has pointed out. It would be terrific if we can manage to get it open and is one of the major challenges that faces the Minister in terms of how to restore and retain the monuments that are part of our heritage in Ireland. Thoor Ballylee is a gorgeous place and I want to set at rest the mind of Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh that we took advice about advertising for the cause of giving funding. We contacted every arts officer in the country to make sure people knew about it and we had close to 150 applications for funding. They were not based on bed nights but purely on the cultural benefit and capacity of any of the projects to match the criteria laid down, none of which had anything to do with bed nights although the economic impact of any activity must be borne in mind. However, this was not part of the Yeats fund. Galway has been represented on the steering group, particularly in respect of Thoor Ballylee and Senator Healy Eames in funding. We are trying to create a Dublin Galway Sligo triangle, although geographers may argue about the shape. When people come to Dublin, I do not want them to think that it is a long way to Galway or Sligo. I want them to think that Yeats was part of all these places. He belongs to all of us but he particularly had an interest in those three places, lived there and much of his work was influenced by his associations there. We must take responsibility to encourage visitors out of Dublin and make it worthwhile. This is what we would like to see as a legacy. We must hold hands with each other and collaborate as three counties that have a particular interest and can encourage others.
With regard to the wild Atlantic way, we are looking for layering, a point about which we have spoken to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Donohoe. The cultural pieces of the wild Atlantic way is one element of legacy work.
Senator Ó Clochartaigh did not read this quote:

A statesman is an easy man,
He tells his lies by rote;
A journalist makes up his lies
And takes you by the throat;

Members can take their pick as to which one he least liked.
I thank President Higgins, who is the patron of Yeats 2015. He is on a state visit to China and has taken WB Yeats on the tour. He will be talking about Yeats and the cultural links between China and Ireland tomorrow. It is an opportunity to show that we have links and that we can use our cultural links across the world. It is one of the pieces that is very important. I thank the Department of Foreign Affairs and our great ambassadors. Each and every one of them has shown personal interest and desire to be involved way above the normal duty of wanting to do the job. This is about wanting to take hold of the project and engage with local communities. I commend them on that and I also commend the Western Development Commission, which is the lead authority on this. Incredible work has been done in organising this and keeping us on the right track. It is a good collaboration for an organisation that is not one of the agencies under the Minister's umbrella. It is part of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and shows that, when needed, the Government can do the right thing rather than thinking that it ought to belong somewhere else. I wanted to make sure the Western Development Commission was the lead authority because it has an interest in the creative life of the west. Much of what Yeats did, what he was interested in and what he was inspired by was in the west. We should not be afraid to say that.
Senator Eamonn Coghlan had some gracious words. I do not know if he is organising the 5,000 m Yeats race and I have not heard him mention it. I must speak to him about it. Next weekend, the Arts Council will announce a laureate for Irish fiction. What a great moment it will be, with 34 Irish writers, from William Trevor, who has been winning prizes for the past 60 years, to Eimear McBride, who was a prizewinner in the past 12 months and won the Yeats Cup for poetry when she lived in Sligo. She will be one of our guests of honour on Yeats day. Another member acknowledged that Deputy Humphreys is the Minister at a great and interesting time. We have seen some of the expenditure and investment that will take place and there is a great legacy to be taken from it as we begin to appreciate much more the correct and right role of the arts and our culture. I would hope that in ten or 20 years time Senators standing here will not be saying that the arts are a poor relation but that they are a vibrant part of our lives. All of us look forward to assisting and feeding into the Minister's 2025 plan.