The Stage

Irish subsidised arts sector supports 2,600 jobs - report

Published Friday 18 November 2011 at 12:46 by Michael Quinn

Ireland’s state-funded arts organisations and practitioners generated turnover equivalent to more than twice what they received in grant-in-aid from the Arts Council and supported more than 2,600 jobs in 2010.

A new report examining the economic impact of the arts in Ireland revealed a combined turnover of €135 million (£115 million) by Arts Council clients on total funding of €60.3 million (£51.6 million). Arts funding in the country has been hit by the continuing economic downturn, with government spending on the sector through the Arts Council falling from an historic high of €81.6 million (£70 million) in 2008 (when a campaign was launched to raise the threshold to €100 million/£85.6 million) to €68.6 million (£59 million) last year. In 2011, it received just €65.2 million (£56 million), a 20% reduction over four years.

As a whole, including non-state-funded organisations, the arts employed 21,328 people and contributed €306.8 million (£263 million) in taxes to the Irish exchequer.

The wider creative industry, which includes film and video, publishing, advertising, software, radio and television, libraries, archives, museums and other arts facilities, was estimated to support 79,000 jobs and contribute €4.7 billion (£4 billion) to the economy.

Arts minister Jimmy Deenihan said: “The arts underpin policies in attracting foreign direct investment, in the creation of an imaginative labour force, in establishing an innovative environment in which the creative and cultural industries can thrive and in cultural tourism. By focusing on the arts as an element of social and economic renewal, we are playing to our strengths.”

Arts Council chairman Pat Moylan called on the government to protect investment in the arts as “a priority”, adding: “Our artists and arts organisations continue to play their part in our national recovery. While the arts should not be evaluated solely on economic grounds, it is clear from this report that the sector is a financially important and labour intensive one.”