Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A vibrant economy and open healthy democracy depends on a diverse, enriched, creative and cultural atmosphere. Ms Jane Daly, the programme manager for Galway 2020, has said with confidence that the award to Galway of the European City of Culture is for the city and county of Galway and that the most extraordinary capital of culture that Europe has ever seen will be delivered by the city.In Galway, she has a lot about which to be confident. I had the pleasure of living in Galway where I studied for a course in film and television, and played in sessions across the town. It comes as no surprise that its cultural landscape has been recognised by the European Union and that it will be European Capital of Culture 2020.

The glass is half-full for Galway. However, we were disappointed to hear this month of the closure of Cinemobile in Galway. It was a powerful resource over the past 16 years. It brought a mobile cinema experience to community projects, festivals and schools across the island, North and South. The board of Cinemobile took significant steps to increase commercial revenue to fill the gaps left by constant erosion of public funding but these did not prove sufficient. It was a small one-of-a-kind, not-for-profit organisation that brought the magic of cinema to communities across Ireland. Compare the benefits of Netflix to the benefits of communal viewing on social occasions. The National Theatre of Scotland has an innovative model of theatre without walls. The Scottish equivalent of the Abbey Theatre does not have a permanent public space and the result is a more democratic form of art, a greater outreach and a more diverse experience for its society. Bringing art outside the confines of four sterile walls can lead to public art in phone boxes, at bus stops, in gardens, in schools and in community centres. For the past 16 years, Cinemobile did just that and guaranteed a diverse experience for our society. I commend the founders of that not-for-profit organisation on their work during the past 16 years.

Am I out of time?