The Stage

Irish arts sector emerges almost unscathed from budget cuts

Published Monday 14 December 2009 at 12:28 by Anthony Garvey

A vigorous national campaign by the Irish arts community, backed up by Arts Minister Martin Cullen, has succeeded in averting the swingeing cuts predicted for the sector in last week’s Budget.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan did wield the axe - cutting overall arts funding by 6% and reducing the annual Arts Council subvention from €73.35m to €69.15m – but worse had been expected, given that a raft of arts agencies, even including the department itself, had been targeted for abolition in a bid to help the cash-strapped Irish exchequer.

A committee headed by economist Colm McCarthy, commissioned by government to identify potential savings ahead of the budget, recommended a €37m cut in overall arts funding. Culture Ireland, which promotes the Irish arts abroad, should be axed, it said, as should the Irish Film Board, and there should be a €6.1m cut in the Arts Council grant. It also questioned the need for a separate arts ministry, suggesting it could be scrapped and its work taken over by other departments.

Much to the relief of the sector, the finance minister ignored these recommendations, with the overall arts budget cut by just €12m to €166m, and the funding for Culture Ireland and the Film Board left relatively unchanged. It represented a significant success for the National Campaign for the Arts (NCFA), a high-profile lobby group launched by the sector to fight what were described as the “disastrous” McCarthy proposals.

The NCFA featured many major players on the Irish arts scene, including Abbey director Fiach MacConghail. Druid founder Garry Hynes, Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle, playwright Sebastian Barry and Emmy Award-winning actor Brendan Gleeson. Members lobbied politicians, testified to parliamentary committees and addressed meetings, emphasising the importance of the arts to Ireland’s international reputation and how they could help in rebuilding the economy.

Responding to the Budget decisions, Pat Moylan, chair of the Arts Council, paid tribute to those involved in the campaign and also to the leadership of Arts Minister Cullen, who had spoken out strongly against the McCarthy recommendations.