Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and congratulate her on her new brief. It is an exciting one. Through culture, we touch every pulse point of society. It is one of the ways through which we can most strongly and immediately feel the concerns, ideas and thoughts of the nation. Culture is a powerful and important thing.

While I am proud of Galway being chosen as the European capital of culture for 2020, I acknowledge the strong bids from other cities and areas throughout the country. Limerick has an extraordinary record in terms of music. It lost one of Ireland's musical luminaries in Dolores O'Riordan recently, but it has people from new generations, including the Rubberbandits, who are making cultural marks. It also has heritage and museums. I hope that the ideas that were raised and community conversations that were held in areas that made bids are listened to because they make for extraordinary and interesting reading. Limerick is keen and ready to develop its cultural and creative industries.

Similarly, the Three Sisters area submitted a strong and interesting cross-county proposal. One of the loveliest ideas within that bid was the prescription for arts, the notion that, at times, the idea of an artistic input, access to proper libraries with books and access to performance can be essential to the health and well-being of an individual or community. These ideas can be pushed forward.

On this occasion, Galway was chosen as European capital of culture. I recall the weekend that the judges visited Galway. This is how deeply participative it was.Rates were increased and many businesses contributed to the bid. The artistic community also contributed. We all know about the many festivals that are run in the city. Galway has an artistic and creative community that keeps the cultural and creative life of the city going, despite being deeply underresourced. Many in that community earn very low wages and are living on very little but they keep Galway alive. Similar to the Corrib itself, that community is a source of fast-moving energy for the city all year round. Those volunteers and artists who work for very little have contributed to making the bid possible. They are very important. On the weekend when the judges were visiting, one could feel the energy in the streets and the enthusiasm of the people of Galway for this bid. The judges were literally immersed in that spirit. I mean that quite literally because they were taken for a swim in the Atlantic as part of Galway's bid. I emphasise this because the spirit of participation which was key in the securing of the bid will also be key to a successful European capital of culture year for Galway. It is vital to ensure that the participation of all of the diverse groups within Galway, including marginalised groups, and of the different generations is front and centre during the year.

It is important that we refer to cultural rights in this discussion, particularly the rights of young people to participate in culture. There are lots of exciting initiatives in that regard, including a new festival for those aged between zero and six which was announced in Galway this week. Such initiatives are important but it is also important that young generations of producers and creators are included as part of the bid. I regret that we do not have stronger representation of artists on the board but that might be considered again as this moves along. I say this because it is very important to stay in touch with the local artistic community. The Making Waves booklet must be checked again to make sure that its spirit is retained as we move along but I am confident that will happen.

One of the most important aspects of the European capital of culture concept is the importance of culture to European cohesion and identity. The neglect of culture during the recent protracted period of austerity has been damaging to European social cohesion. However, this is a two-way street. Damage to culture can damage social cohesion but culture is often the medium through which artists first send us signals and tell us about social concerns. Art can be challenging and it is appropriate that we embrace that challenge and welcome what artists are telling us. A key moment for me was the play about the Magdalen laundries that was first performed in Galway as a challenge to society. That spirit of art as challenging is something we need to embrace. Europe needs to ensure that cultural rights and cultural diversity are celebrated.

What is interesting about the vision for the European capital of culture is that it is about diversity and understanding. It is not simply about finding the common points across Europe but also about recognising that Europe is an ongoing conversation between diverse experiences and ideas and that we can benefit each other in that. One of the examples in Galway that captures that very beautifully is the Inish: Island Conversations Festival which has been taking place on Inishbofin over recent years. It is a conversation in the most local of places but it is an international conversation. Those living in small and island communities right across Europe and the world have been invited to come and talk about what it means to survive as a community in the world. That is why the change from European city to European capital of culture is exciting. Galway can be a capital of culture for the west of Ireland. It is also an invitation to those from across Ireland, Europe and the world to be part of conversations that are important and experiences that can be transformative.

The Small Towns Big Ideas project was mentioned and that is really important. I know that towns such as Headford and Athenry have already put huge efforts and ideas forward. One of the great gifts that we could take from the European capital of culture year is if people in the west of Ireland who participate have their imaginations sparked so that they can imagine all sorts of extraordinary and interesting things and can imagine a future for themselves in the west of Ireland. That is part of sparking peoples' imagination so that they can imagine futures, the impossible and what is not there yet. That is important and that is why it is significant that the Minister said that this is not a festival; it is not even a showcase or a tourism opportunity. This is a moment for sea change, for the making of identity and of possibilities.

To return to the language of the Making Waves document, we talk about ripples, splashes and sea change.