Malcolm Noonan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I support the comments made by Senator Fitzpatrick. We await the announcement from the US Administration as it continues to play deal or no deal with the global economy. We in Ireland need collectively to adapt to a rapidly changing world order. That involves seeing this as an opportunity to wean ourselves off our overdependence on corporation tax receipts and to start localising, for example, our energy systems, farming and food systems, indigenous industry and SMEs, and to look towards other trading partners.

There is a fear among cultural and heritage institutions that they may be seen as collateral damage when it comes to possible budgetary cuts later this year. Perhaps the warning salvos were sent out by the Minister in respect of the issues around the scanner at the National Gallery of Ireland. As the US Administration scours cultural institutions, LGBTQI, black history, the Smithsonian Institution and the Kennedy Center, culture is being stripped out and history is being erased. It is a worrying time as we see that happening. A part of our opportunity must be the ramping up of investment in culture and heritage. It is a fantastic opportunity. We see this as an investment. Our national library and national museums have been starved of funding over successive terms of government. I managed to give an uplift to the Heritage Council and other heritage organisations during my time in government. There is a genuine fear there.

Will the Leader arrange a discussion and invite representatives of the national cultural institutions for a discourse on funding and their future long-term needs? There is a repository in Swords that harbours a lot of artefacts on behalf of the OPW the National Museum of Ireland and the National Monuments Service. There is a bigger piece of work required on the national development plan in that regard. We should see this as an opportunity. We should consider the value of culture and heritage not just from the point of view of our social well-being and identity but also from an economic viewpoint. It is important we have a debate in the House. Perhaps we could invite the cultural institutions to have a discussion on their requirements as other countries are pulling back. Part of the opportunity, as we consider what might unfold in the next 24 hours, is that we can look at the value of culture and heritage to our economy and society.