Artistic practice should be available to the whole of society regardless of income, location or social background. We call for the following measures:
- Create a National Cultural Fund to increase state funding of the arts to the European average of 0.6 percent of GDP.
- Fund access to arts participation in disadvantaged areas for adults and children and those with disabilities.
- Open schools and colleges for after-school artistic activities for children and teenagers.
- Open public spaces for use by local arts organisations.
- Support live music. Live music venues are a vital part of our cultural life. We will cut rates on pubs that have regular live music.
- Support performances and exhibitions in public spaces.
- Create arts participation programmes in prisons, schools, care homes and hospitals.
- Remove the requirement of ‘availability for work’ for artists on Jobseeker’s Allowance.
- Create a ‘new deal’ programme for artists in the public sector. This would create well-paid jobs and increase access to the arts throughout society.
Media
- Support public broadcasting as a vital part of a creative and critical society.
- Cut the salaries of top RTÉ performers and use a tax on digital media companies, such as Facebook, to fund public broadcasting.
- End Independent News Media’s existing monopoly over many media outlets.