The National Campaign for the Arts has welcomed what it describes as the “modest increases” in funding for the arts, announced by Minister Heather Humphries, as part of Budget 2017.

Among the institutions to benefit from increases in funding are The Arts Council, Culture Ireland, the National Cultural Institutions and the Irish Film Board.

However, there are grounds for discontent among artists too, according to a statement issued by the organisation.
"Dismay was expressed by members,” the statement said, "that in a budget that saw an additional €1 billion approx. allocated in expenditure, the Arts, Culture & Film budget, which was increased from €156.5m in 2015 to €188.5m in 2016, reduced to €158.3m for 2017 - a 16% cut."

The figures for 2016 include the additional funds that were allocated for the 1916 Commemoration events.
"Given the enormous value and impact of the State’s additional investment in arts and culture for the commemorations programme this year,” the statement added, "the NCFA believes that this increased level of cultural investment for 2016 should have been fully retained, rather than redirecting some of that funding from the cultural sector to other sectors, as the Government has done in this budget."

NCFA have previously pointed out that Ireland’s investment in the Arts is low by European standards and this theme was again picked up in their post-budget analysis: "Regrettably, Ireland's unenviable position at the bottom of the EU league in terms of average GDP spending on the arts looks set to continue for the foreseeable future, given government commitment to the Department into 2017."
NCFA Chairperson Jo Mangan called for a re-think from the Government.

"We recognise all the efforts made by Minister Humphreys to maximize the outcome for her department,” Jo Mangan said. "While recognising the positive impact of the steps taken, we are disappointed that the outcome was not more positive for the sector. In our pre-Budget submission, the NCFA stressed the need to work urgently toward restoring the €30 million stripped from the Arts Council funding since 2008 and the devastating cuts to the National Cultural Institutions. This would have provided some much needed stability for artists and arts organisations.

"There is strong disappointment coming from members, who expected a significant increase from Budget 2017, in order to make extraordinary art happen for the citizens of Ireland. At 0.1% of GDP, Ireland’s expenditure on Arts and Culture is at the bottom of the list of EU countries compared with an average of 0.6%, surely something no country can condone. The NCFA calls on the Government to rethink their ongoing strategy for the arts and work actively with the arts community to raise arts funding to the EU average as a matter of urgency.”

The NCFA also expressed the view that, rather than creating a separate new fund, the €5m reserved for a “Culture 2025/Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme Legacy Initiative” would make a greater impact if invested directly into the Arts Council.

The National Campaign for the Arts was established in 2009 as a response to the McCarthy Report. It is described as "a nationwide, volunteer-led, grass roots movement that makes the case for the arts in Ireland. It seeks to ensure that the arts are on local and national government agendas and are recognised as a vital part of contemporary Irish life."

Members of the steering group include Jo Mangan (Chair), Philomena Byrne, Madeline Boughton, Vincent Dempsey, Kate Howard, Fiach MacConghail (pictured), Emer McGarry