General Election: what issues face candidates in the arts sector?

The arts sector in Ireland, while thriving in many areas (look at the international success of artists such as Paul Mescal, Claire Keegan, Sally Rooney and Dermot Kennedy) continues to face numerous ongoing challenges .

In a report during summer 2024, the Joint committee on Tourism Arts, Culture, Sport and media stated that "Arts and culture should be accessible to all people, irrespective of where they live or who they are. It is essential that all communities are empowered to make art and to engage with the arts within their localities and across communities."

That is all well and good people in the arts sector say, but that requires sustainable funding commitments.

For some in the sector, they will be asking politicians if they are purely focussed on assessing economic benefits of the creative industries, linking arts funding to tourism and job creation, or if they believe that the arts should be seen as a public good, accessible to all regardless of economic output.

The challenges facing the sector range from funding limitations and the need for equitable access to the arts, to the impacts of digitalisation, cultural inclusivity, and sustainability.

1. Funding

One of the most persistent challenges in supporting the arts sector is committing to consistent and sustainable funding.

In the recent budget for example, The Arts Council, which is the most significant funding agency for this sector was left disappointed with its allocation.

The Council had actively lobbied for an increase of €24 million to last year's budget of €136 million, bringing their total up to €160 million but it was confirmed in Budget 25 that it had been allocated €140 million, €20 million below its target.

Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council, accepted the announcement at the time, saying that "while the figure for 2025 is at the lower end of what we sought to meet unprecedented demand... we look forward to working with Government to develop a sustainable future for the arts in Ireland."

For Maura McGrath, Chair of the Arts Council, while she thanked Minister Catherine Martin for continuing to recognise the value of the arts, she added that "our research shows that further investment will be required to respond to significant pressure points in the arts sector and to deliver the best return on government investment to date." They will continue to lobby for an increase in funding which they say is essential for them to continue to support their work.

2. Basic Income for the Arts scheme

First launched in October 2022, artists on the BIA scheme receive a payment of €325 a week from the state to support them in their professional arts careers. Initially the programme was set up as a pilot scheme that was due to run over 3 years, from 2022 to 2025 but it has now been extended until end of 2025.

Support and praise for the scheme has been broad across the sector, and there was a concerted effort from groups such as The National Campaign for the Arts (NCFA) to extend it beyond its three year term.

The decision in Budget 2025 to continue to allocate the funding beyond the 3-year pilot was broadly welcomed, but now artists are looking for longer-term commitments to the scheme and will be looking to the next government for support.

The Arts Sector continues to speak on what they want next government to prioritise. Featuring actor & theatre-maker @anthonykinahan and @antainarts Director & CEO Paul Hayes, both based in the North East.@sinnfeinireland @labour @SocDems @PBPDublin15 @FineGael @fiannafailparty pic.twitter.com/YupYGqC4Uq

— National Campaign for the Arts - Ireland (@Campaign4Arts) November 15, 2024

3 Equitable Access to the Arts

Ensuring equitable access to the arts is a significant challenge that political parties face. Currently, there are disparities in access, particularly between urban and rural areas, and between different socio-economic groups.

Dublin, as the capital, hosts the majority of national cultural institutions and receives the bulk of arts funding. This creates a divide where many rural communities are left underserved.

Political parties will be asked how they plan to ensure that arts and cultural activities are not concentrated in urban centres only.

4 Arts in Education

People in the arts sector will be advocating for a stronger focus on arts education within primary school system, ensuring that all children have the opportunity to engage with music, drama, and visual arts.

This is clearly an area that will require ongoing support.

As the importance of wellbeing supports for children is highlighted nationally in schools, many in the sector advocate for schools to be given extra funding to help them broaden arts opportunities for children,

5 Sustainability in the Arts

Artists and cultural institutions are increasingly aware of their environmental impact, and there is growing pressure to adopt more sustainable practices in areas like event production, materials, and energy consumption .However, the challenge is to support this transition without overburdening an already financially vulnerable sector.

6. Cultural Inclusivity and Representation

In an increasingly diverse Ireland, political parties also face the challenge of ensuring cultural inclusivity and representation in the arts. Fostering diversity and inclusion requires deliberate policy efforts, such as allocating specific funding for relevant cultural projects and ensuring that cultural boards and institutions are representative of Ireland’s population.

Conclusion

As the Joint committee report stated, it has identified a number of actions, including the development of an arts capital and equipment programme for investment in local and community arts. It says that it could be of a similar scale and structure as its Sports Capital and Equipment Programme and that could positively impact on the availability of arts across society.

Whether political parties commit to exploring these ideas, will become clear in the course of the campaign.