Key points for Artists in Budget 2024:
- Arts Council funding €134m, up €4m from last year
- €1.9m initiative for regional arts infrastructure
- Sustained funding for Basic Income for the Arts
- Increased funding of €1.5m for Screen Ireland
- €7.6m for Culture Ireland
Source:
https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/5a08e-details-of-budget-2024-announced-for-the-department-of-tourism-culture-arts-gaeltacht-sport-and-media/
https://www.cultureireland.ie/news/article/culture-ireland-budget-2024
Praxis Artist Union of Ireland broadly welcomes the sustained public investment in the arts announced by Ministers Donohoe and McGrath on Tuesday 10th October. The breakdown outlined by Minister Catherine Martin the following day showed a welcome increase in investment to the Arts Council and Culture Ireland as well as new funding to develop the arts and culture night-time economy.
The Arts Council provides many artists in Ireland with a substantial portion of their annual income, either directly or via the many institutions it funds. It is essential that the Arts Council receives investment in line with EU spending in order to meet the wide demand in a thriving arts sector.
Continued yearly increases in public expenditure should be implemented in the arts sector to not only bring Ireland in line with broader European trends, but to make Ireland an international leader in the field of public arts funding, best practice and excellence.
As Theatre Forum and First Music Contact’s recent report shows, artists pay and conditions are worsening. It is important to note many of the major issues artists face are synonymous with that of other low paid workers in Ireland:
- Unaffordable & unsecure housing
- Cost of living increases & inflation
- Access to healthcare
- Access to to and affordability of childcare
- Systemic barriers which prevent equal participation
- Precarious working terms
In times of conflict and societal struggle the arts can bring communities together, fostering respect and understanding, break down cultural barriers, building trust and facilitating reconciliation. We believe more ambitious strides need to be made by the government in these areas to make Ireland a fairer society and to make working as an artist in Ireland more accessible and sustainable to all, no matter their socio-economic context.
At Praxis our Living Wage Campaign continues with the aim of artists to have a socially acceptable standard of living, to thrive in their artistic careers and to keep contributing to Ireland’s rich cultural fabric. We are calling on artists to join Praxis, their union, to demand fair pay and conditions by expressing our collective power.
The Praxis Council wishes to acknowledge the work of our members and the many organisations in the arts and culture sector working to improve the conditions for artists.
