Funding
- Government spending on the arts for 2018 will be €158.2 million. People Before Profit would increase this by a further €100 million.
- People Before Profit supports the National Campaign for the Arts demand to increase state funding of the arts to the European average of 0.6% of GDP. We would aim to do this over the next five years.
- Establish a fund to promote access to arts participation in disadvantaged areas for adults and children.
- Establish a fund to increase access to arts participation for adults and children with disabilities.
Greater Access
- Ensure that children have greater access to culture/art as a right both in the education sector and outside it.
- Open existing facilities such as schools and colleges for after-school artistic activities for children and teenagers.
- Open Public Spaces – including NAMA buildings – for use by local arts organisations.
- Performances and exhibitions in public spaces as well as arts participation programmes in prisons, schools, care homes and hospitals.
Support for Artists
- Remove the requirement of ‘availability for work’ for artists on Jobseeker’s Allowance to allow artists to do unpaid work without pressure from the Department of Social Protection.
- A ‘New Deal’ jobs programme for artists in the public sector. Such a programme would provide decent pay and job security for artists, while also providing high quality arts in sectors such as care homes, prisons, schools and hospitals. It would be spread out across the arts, including visual arts, writing, music, dance and theatre.
This ‘New Deal’ programme will encourage artists to contribute their skills and creativity to society whilst earning a living wage. It will be of enormous benefit to patients, the elderly, children, inmates and staff and will contribute to a higher quality of life for everyone in these sectors.