News: Commencement raised in Seanad on Funding Musical Societies
Transcript:
Senator Mary Seery Kearney:
We have had four Commencement matters this morning relating to the portfolios of two Green Party Ministers, neither of whom has appeared. The Minister of State has the difficult task of standing in for them.
If ever there was a matter that should be sung into the record, this is it. However, I will not inflict that on the Seanad this morning. I work with a man named Frank Foley. He is a pivotal member of the Kilmainham Inchicore Musical Society.
I have the honour of supporting it next week as it runs "Rock of Ages" in the Inchicore College of Further Education. As the annual outing of the musical society, it involves an incredible number of people from the community. The society has more than 70 members and the local community gets to go to an event being performed locally by people they recognise and family members and friends.
Frank Foley is also the national secretary of the Association of Irish Musical Societies. There are 130 such societies on the island, each of which has over 70 members and engages its community in the same way. In a musical society there is a role for everyone. From the extroverts who can take centre stage and the behind-the-scenes people, everyone can get involved. Yet, since Covid musical societies across Ireland have not been receiving funding from the Department of the arts or the Arts Council. This year, they are branching into secondary schools to try to engage pupils in a mentoring programme. This is very important, especially now that speech and drama is taught until junior certificate. These societies are providing extracurricular music activities under the Department of Education and the Arts Council but they have not received funding. No value is placed on the important art, cultural and community impact that these organisations have. It is incredibly remiss of the Minister not to ensure the Arts Council funds musical societies. Art and culture are found in a multiplicity of ways. We must engage people where they are and in what they are interested, and a musical society is exactly the way to do it.
I live in the Dublin South-Central constituency. Arts facilities have been closed down across the constituency. The Rupert Guinness Theatre, which was available to musical societies, is closed. Diageo has made it available to the community provided Dublin City Council runs it and the Minister funds it but there is no sign of that funding coming through. Yet again, musical societies are being let down. The Tivoli Theatre on Francis Street was knocked down to make way for student and tourist accommodation while the community suffers a deficit as a consequence. There seems to be no intent to support the arts at the community level either in my constituency or across the country. How many rural communities benefit from local musical societies?
I hope there is good news in the Minister of State's answer or that we have missed something somewhere in the budget. I have trawled through it and cannot see anything that would be dedicated to this crucial community-based activity that is rich in culture, in community engagement and in bringing people together in their area and in something in which they have ownership, participation and involvement.
Response from Deputy Kieran O'Donnell
I thank the Senator for raising this very important matter which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. The Programme for Government: Our Shared Future includes the interest to develop innovative support schemes for amateur drama and musicals. In 2021, with the support of the Department, the Arts Council provided funding to the resource organisations that support the amateur drama and musical societies. For example, the Drama League of Ireland received Arts Council funding of €135,000 and the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland was received Arts Council funding of €138,000. I am not sure if the latter is Frank Foley’s group.
The Arts Council’s music policy, published in 2023, plans to identify optimum models of provision of a national network of accessible performance, rehearsal and recording venues for new and emerging artists in a range of specialist music genres and practices and for community music-making; engage proactively with other national, amateur music-making organisations to establish supportive partnerships; and avail of the Arts Council and local authorities’ strategic partnership to develop more strategic funding of local voluntary and amateur music-making. In addition, a network of cultural infrastructure exists throughout the country, with the majority in the ownership of local authorities. Annual support, including programming and revenue supports, is provided to these arts centres by local authorities and the Arts Council.
These arts centres are where artists and audiences meet and this is a key part of the Arts Council strategy to invest in public engagement. The Department focuses on providing capital grant funding to assist development and to maintain these arts and cultural facilities. For example, the Civic Theatre in Tallaght and Mill Theatre in Dundrum have received capital funding from the Department in recent years through applications for specific grant schemes.
The Department has a number of measures in place to support the arts at amateur and professional levels. Annual funding is provided to Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann for its work in the protection and promotion of Irish traditional music and culture. In 2024, €7.6 million, which is the highest level of funding for Culture Ireland since its establishment, will support more Irish artists to launch and develop their careers on an international stage. This Department managed to secure the highest ever allocation of €8 million for Culture Ireland in budget 2025.
The basic income for the arts pilot scheme is a three-year, €105 million scheme involving 2,000 artists and creative arts workers nationwide. There is increased funding for the Safe to Create programme, including Minding Creative Minds, which supports all artists and creatives.
A new pilot capital support scheme for arts, culture and the night-time economy will support the development of vibrant late-night arts and culture scenes in Irish cities, towns and villages as well as additional capital to assist in the provision of building and equipment needs, artists’ workspaces, and adapting facilities to reduce energy needs and carbon footprints.
The music capital scheme managed by Music Network provides funding for the purchase of musical instruments to both non-professional performing groups and ensembles, and professional musicians.
Creative Ireland programme funding is supporting the delivery of a number of creative projects nationwide. Funding is provided for cultural events such as St. Patrick’s Festival, Other Voices and Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, which in turn helps to sustain the arts at all levels.
The relevant Oireachtas joint committee recently published its report on the development of local and community arts. The recommendations from this report broadly align with policies and programmes in place in this Department in areas such as local arts infrastructure, disability, and arts and health. One of these recommendations was that the Arts Council formally recognise musical theatre as a distinct art form. The report is a helpful and positive contribution to policy development and the 16 recommendations set out therein continue to be reviewed by officials in the Department.
Following meetings this summer with Senator Malcolm Byrne and members of the Drama League of Ireland, the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland and the Association of Irish Musical Societies, the Department will continue to engage with stakeholders on musical theatre and drama.
Senator Mary Seery Kearney:
"I thank the Minister of State for his response. I note the last paragraph which refers to meetings this summer with the Drama League of Ireland, the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland and the Association of Irish Musical Societies. The three of them are listed there. However, when it comes to the provision of funding, only two of those three entities are named and the one that is left out is the one for which I am specifically making representations. I am heartened that the Department will continue to engage with it. I will certainly bring that back to Frank Foley and all the people across the country his association represents.
I am also heartened at the capital funding because we will need capital funding to reopen the Rupert Guinness Theatre in Dublin 8 and to make sure that is available to the community across the Liberties and Dublin South-Central. It is very disappointing that they met during the summer and a budget was announced but that no specific allowance was made for musical theatre."
Response from Deputy Kieran O'Donnell
Musical theatre is an amateur pursuit for most of those involved and it has established a sustainable model of operation. It relies on voluntary commitment and enthusiastic audiences. As the Senator mentioned, 130 musical societies throughout Ireland are members of the Association of Irish Musical Societies. This involves approximately 14,000 people directly involved in musical theatre, engaging an audience base of in excess of 1 million. It is a hugely positive activity for those involved and for the wider community. I acknowledge that a number of commercial sponsors contribute through the national associations towards the annual costs of amateur drama. I take the opportunity to acknowledge with thanks the generous support of sponsors of national bodies towards their special presentations.
The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, remains committed to this area and has allocated funding in budget 2025 for the continuation of the basic income for artists, direct allocation for the arts and the Department's annual schemes to assist practitioners in this area. Departmental officials continue to work with the Arts Council to progress the recommendations of the Oireachtas joint committee report on the basic income for artists report published earlier in the year.
On the specific point made in respect of the Association of Irish Musical Societies, I will bring the matter to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin. I suggest that the Senator writes to the Minister on that matter. The funding was made available to the other two organisations. Certainly, the Oireachtas joint committee has highlighted musical theatres in its report and I expect that a constructive discussion will continue with the Department and her officials.
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