Fiach MacConghail (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Fáiltím roimh an Aire. For my colleagues and friends in the Labour Party, to whom I am very close politically, I want to reiterate that this is not in any way a personal attack, but I find this Private Members' motion to be sloppy, badly written and lacking understanding of the level of difficulty faced by the national cultural institutions. I acknowledge that the Minister has responded in terms of funding for the 1916 commemoration. I congratulate her on the launch of the commemoration with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste. It was a wonderful affair, which captured the imagination. There was a real sense of self-confidence in the room and among the community, with the Government finally showing a sense of leadership, but also inclusivity. I congratulate the Minister from the heart on that. It is important that I say that, because I would not want her to get any mixed messages.

However, although it is not the Minister's fault, this has been one of the worst Governments since the foundation of the State as regards supporting the arts. This is not just about funding, and the catastrophic cuts of up to 40% for all the national cultural institutions, including the Abbey Theatre, of which I am director. I want to put that on the record, in case there is any perceived conflict of interest. I am talking about the various public sector curtailments that make it very difficult for cultural institutions such as the National Library of Ireland and the museums to hire curators, librarians and archivists because of the recruitment ban. This has stunted them.

This motion contains a misspelling. It mentions the "National Arts Gallery". I do not know what that is. This is the Labour Party, which created the first Ministry for the arts, which was occupied by the current President, Michael D. Higgins. I am disappointed by the ill-informed response to a major crisis. Not only has funding been cut over the last four years, which we understand, but the cuts are savage. While the Government pays lip service to the idea that culture is there to support Ireland abroad and to give us good standing, we cut the artists' standard of living, so that they are emigrating because they cannot afford rent in Dublin. They are moving away from conurbations. Culture Ireland's funding has also been cut. The state of the individual artist in this country today, 99 years after the Rising, is characterised by penury, a lack of support from the State and a lack of planning.

On the other side, the sword of Damocles is swinging over the so-called amalgamations of the various national cultural institutions. The Minister did not mention this, so I assume it is not happening, but the clock is ticking because we are now in May. There was no mention of this in the Minister's speech and there is no congratulatory note in the Members' motion regarding any amalgamation or sharing of services by the National Gallery of Ireland, which is its official title, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Crawford Gallery. I have no issue with shared services, and I congratulate the Minister as there have been some wins in that respect. There is a Bill before the House on that and there is a second Bill dealing with the amalgamation of the National Museum and the National Library. Will new boards be appointed to both those organisations? They have been waiting in the wings, atrophying, because there is no leadership at governance level. These boards have been waiting to see whether they will be amalgamated. They have been crying out for cultural leadership. The Minister has time to look at that. This House was very clear in its message to the Government that these amalgamations should occur.At least the Labour Party should have the honesty to commend the Minister for not proceeding with that legislation. Another Bill is undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny, namely, the national cultural institutions Bill which relates to the National Concert Hall. There is not only a catastrophic cutting of funding but also a catastrophic disemboweling of the very essence and structure of some of our most important cultural institutions, which predate the State. The National Museum predates the State and yet it does not have proper governance; its board is in a kind of limbo or purgatory. I would like to hear the Minister's comments on that. Although the Minister has significantly supported the commemorations, we need to invest in and restore funding to national cultural institutions. There should not be hypocrisy whereby we pay lip-service to individual artists. I feel a little embarrassed for us in that regard.

There is no mention of the National Archives in the motion, where there is a crisis around storage nor is there mention of the challenge facing the National Archives around the Irish 30-year rule given the British Government's 20-year rule. The British Government will release papers after 20 years and will have its propaganda and spin on Irish history out before we can release our documents. We will have to wait another ten years and it will be skewed. The 1986 National Archives Act is way out of date and yet some of the sections have not actually been implemented. I am disappointed in the Labour Party for not addressing these crises in the National Archives, particularly the storage issue. I would like to hear a comment on Bishop Street, the home of the archives. What capital investment might occur there?

Although I stand by my criticism of the Minister and the Government, I commend her on the national commemoration and the national cultural policy. The Minister has developed a draft discussion paper, the first phase of which will be launched shortly with the Royal Irish Academy. This is a historic development which the arts and cultural sector was seeking. On the one hand, the Minister has shown strategic support and leadership while on the other hand, the Government has caused devastation to the state of individual artists in the country and has sent mixed messages around what I would call the desecration of the national cultural institutions when it comes to legislation. I look forward to hearing the Minister's comments.