Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would like to discuss the recently launched Youth Arts Now report. Research into youth arts is, unfortunately, lacking in comparison with other fields. I would, therefore, like to begin by acknowledging the hard work and dedication of John O'Brien and those who contributed to this report, including the Arts Council and the folks in Waterford. We have a long, noble and vibrant artistic history in Ireland. Indeed, I have often spoken of how, in my teenage years, I was politicised by our folk music and songs, some of which were the first great literary expression of the Irish people through the English language. However, despite our proud artistic history, youth art is, as recently noted in the Youth Arts Now report, facing several fundamental barriers to success, in particular a lack of a consistent and centralised source of funding to the sector.

Varying funding from county to county means that young people find themselves in a postcode lottery, and the lack of funding has also meant that youth arts has come to rely on volunteers. These dedicated individuals give their time, their energy, their imagination and their expertise for very little financial reward or gain. We are, therefore, relying on the professional status and pay of those working in the sector to deliver on this. Young people deserve the inspiration and the tools to forge their own creative and cultural paths, and it is vital that we consider the recommendation of this Youth Arts Now report and assess how best to support it. I call for a debate on the matter.

More broadly, I believe Ireland is excessively restrictive in terms of creating cultural activity. Where do I start? We have a litigious culture that stops events taking place, infrastructure that is in places non-existent, a lack of scale for people to organise events, and gatekeeping of bigger venues. Then there are the physically constrained Victorian spaces that were never designed for everyone and were designed primarily for the middle classes at that time.

Nowhere is this more restrictive and obvious at the moment than in the area of public art. Despite the undoubted artistic merit of street art and events, the number of spaces where street artists can legally paint remains few and far between. The closure of the Bernard Shaw and the demolition of the Tivoli Theatre have all but decimated the number of easily accessible spaces where young artists can practise their public art. The position is equally dire when it comes to private spaces, with planning law stopping that too.

I know members of SUBSET are here in Leinster House today and that a Bill will be launched in the Dáil on this issue around planning legislation. It cannot happen soon enough.