An Bord Snip Would Decimate the Arts

We need to get our heads around this, and fast. There is a real danger that irreparable damage will be done to film, music, theatre and the arts generally as a result of the recommendations of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes, appointed by the Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, aka An Bord Snip. These recommendations are currently being publicly debated and will be considered in detail by the Cabinet after the summer recess. There is therefore not a lot of time to mount a campaign of resistance and persuasion. But an effective campaign will be crucial. An Bord Snip represents an unprecedented and it has to be said thoroughly wanton attack on the arts. Its recommendations must be opposed.

Of course, the artistic community is not alone in being under threat. But the proposals contained in the report are so utterly hostile to the arts and so draconian in their nature that they have the potential to decimate artistic life and artistic enterprises in this country indefinitely. It is, therefore, crucial now for everyone involved in the arts and in the creative industries to make their voices heard.
The level of philistinism in what has been proposed is breath-taking. For those who haven’t been paying attention, here are the headlines. An Bord Snip has proposed doing away with a separate Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism. It has proposed dumping the Irish Film Board and absorbing its activities into Enterprise Ireland. It has specifically proposed entirely dispensing with the Irish Film Board’s Investment Fund. It has proposed shutting down Culture Ireland, the body charged with promoting Irish arts abroad. And it has further proposed a significant reduction in the funding for the Arts Council. And that is just for starters. In fact to describe it as draconian is an understatement.
The basic premise seems to be that the arts is a frivolous area of no real consequence, that doesn’t involve real work or create jobs, and that has nothing of significance to contribute to Irish life or to the future prospects of the country. It is a crazily blinkered view, which reflects the fact that not one of the six individuals on the ‘Bord’ has any track record of an interest in, or knowledge of, the arts.
The creation of the original Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht in 1993 was one of the most important innovations in Irish politics in decades. The underlying question was a simple one that is relevant still: what sort of society do we want? One that is focused solely on business, on money, on profit, on output, on the price of houses, on materialistic and consumerist concerns? One where rules, regulations and bureaucracy weigh on you every hour of every day?
Or one in which the life of the imagination is respected, in which intelligence is valued, in which people are encouraged to express themselves, and to challenge received wisdoms, in which there is freedom of thought, of ideas, of belief and in which our deeper, more profound instincts are fostered?
In 1993, at least in a tentative way, we chose the latter. The establishment of a Department of the Arts involved an enlightened recognition of the crucial role of the arts and of culture in the life of the nation. The remit of the department has since been modified but the essence remains the same. Culture matters. Poetry matters. Music matters. The work of artists matters. It is a mark of a civilised society that these things are accorded a central place. We had at least been heading in that direction and the existence of a Department of the Arts was at the core of that transformation.
It was the first Minister for the Arts, Michael D. Higgins who established the Irish Film Board. Again, it was a crucial development for Irish film makers. Since then, the number of films being made by Irish directors has increased hugely. The quality has improved dramatically too. Not everyone would agree with all of the decisions they took over the years, but the Irish Film Board has been involved in funding and supporting the making of works of genius like Adam and Paul, brilliant contemporary adventure films like Intermission, the extraordinary Cannes success story Garage and the marvellous Oscar-winning Once, amongst numerous other major works.
An Bord Snip has suggested that the functions of the Irish Film Board could be undertaken by Enterprise Ireland. But of course this is nonsense. I am sure there are wonderful people in Enterprise Ireland, but the truth is that they already have the music industry within their remit and they haven’t got the slightest idea what to do with it. I have spoken to people within the organisation and they acknowledge as much. And if you canvassed people in the music business they would concur. Enterprise Ireland has contributed nothing. They would be even more at sea with film.
The arts is a specialised area. It is a different type of business, that does not fit neatly into the kind of boxes An Bord Snip understands. But it is of central importance not just to Irish people, but to the perception of Ireland abroad. Why do tourists come here? As Garry Hynes of the Druid Theatre Company said, it certainly isn’t for the weather. And why are American businesses attracted to a small island on the edge of Europe? More than anything else it is because of the reputation that Irish musicians, Irish writers, Irish film-makers have carved out for the place of their birth. They come because of Joyce, Beckett, Yeats and Heaney; because of Roddy Doyle, Joseph O’Connor, Colm Toibin and Sebastian Barry; because of Harry Clarke, Louis Le Broquay, Sean Scully, Sean McSweeney; because of Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan, The Commitments and Once; because of Enya, The Corrs, Sinéad O’Connor, U2; because of The Frames, The Dubliners, Damien Dempsey, Christy Moore; because of Damien Rice, Lisa Hannigan, Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, and all of the great comedians that have emerged here over the past ten to fifteen years. They come here for the trad and the rock and the folk. Some of them even come for the dance.
You want to talk about the Smart Economy and how to nurture it? The existence of a thriving music scene, and of a rich cultural landscape ticks all of the right boxes: it suggests that we have a young, vibrant, well educated, open, imaginative, creative, workforce. It promises good times, entertainment, culture, conviviality and craic. All of this is of central economic, as well as spiritual, importance. And so the idea that this should simply be abandoned, sacrificed on the altar of financial expediency, the cultural baby thrown out in the bankers’ dirty bath water, is utterly senseless.
The truth is that the arts matter a great deal. We try to understand the world through poetry, literature, painting and music. We express ourselves, tell our stories, make sense of what is often bleak and terrible. We achieve insights, empathy, compassion, a mutual sense of belonging. We see one another in a different, more humane light. We laugh, enjoy ourselves together and celebrate. It is a vital part of our journey towards self-awareness, towards some sense of belonging. And we create jobs and wealth and build our reputation internationally while we’re at it.
An Bord Snip runs the risk of destroying so much of this. Don’t let them do it.