Dear ,

As you know Budget 2014 was announced yesterday. We were dismayed to see higher than anticipated cuts to funding for the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht outlined in the Book of Estimates.

This is the sixth successive year of cuts in arts funding, down from €250 million in 2013 to €233 million in 2014, an overall cut of 7% (€16.9 million).

The Arts Council allocation has been reduced to under €56 million, a cut of 7% on last year’s figure of approx. €59 million.  This amounts to a cut of almost 34% since the funding high of €85 million in 2008.

We welcome the once-off €17million allocation announced - from the National Lottery licence transaction – to support Limerick City of Culture (€6M), the Decade of Centenaries 1912-1922 (€6M) and the Traditional Skills and Buildings at Risk Jobs Leverage Scheme (€5M). Also the bringing forward of a new regime for film tax relief to 2015.

Minister Deenihan commented that ‘this budget is a really important step to strengthening our economy, exiting the bailout and creating jobs’. We are struggling to see how this is so.   What we see is an extremely concerning downward trajectory for core funding for the arts, which will result in further job losses, company closures, reduced programmes, diminished activity and supports.

We will continue to progress analysis of the implications of this latest budget for the arts. Meantime, you may read the Minister’s statement here .