Download the Joint Oireachtas Report on Culture, Arts and Heritage Here
“Far too many wonderful words have been written about culture in Ireland and far too little has been done that has been sustainable”
– Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs
I think its important to take a moment and review what last years Uplift petition and the lobbying and actions it provoked have achieved to date.
Last year – in June I think – Fianna Fail’s Niamh Smyth, in response to this petition, put down a motion and called a special debate in the Dail. In view of a packed visitors gallery various ministers spoke to the importance of Culture, Arts and Heritage and of course the majority voted against the motion. In the course of the debate we were assured by Minister Humphreys that the existing configuration of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs was ideal and no dedicated ministry was possible or desirable, and that additional funding would be made available as and when the economy improves.
Now, just over a year later we have a Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and a Taoiseach promising to double the funding to the Arts over the next seven years. Given the very low starting point doubling over a seven period is not a particularly ambitious target, but it is something we can measure progress against.
I’d call that a win. Well done.
Continue reading Report on Culture 2025 – A Campaign Update