A major study of the living and working conditions of artists in Ireland is to be carried out, it was announced today.
The study is to be carried out as part of Partnership for the Arts, the Arts Council's new five-year strategy to promote the value of the arts in society.
The document grew from a year of discussions within the arts community and was published alongside action plans in 20 policy areas.
The council is also planning the design and implementation of an advocacy programme to highlight the value of the arts to public policy makers, and will negotiate funding from local authorities and agencies to secure long term stability for arts organisations.
Speaking at the unveiling of the strategy this afternoon, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism John O'Donoghue said that he was deeply committed to making the case for the arts at Government level.
"I have allocated €72.3 million to the Arts Council, an increase of 18.5 per cent, in addition to recent supplementary funding of €5.23 million, to carry out your work in 2006," he said.
Chair of the Arts Council Olive Braiden said the document recognised that "the life of an artist is one of constant change".
"This document is a framework which will allow us to adapt to this changing landscape, while setting clear goals and objectives," she added.
The council will publish annual action plans to set out its priorities for each year of the five-year strategy and hopes to secure funding of €100 million from the exchequer by 2008.
The consultation process for the strategy started in early 2005 and involved 139 meetings with members of the arts community involving almost 1,200 people. Two hundred and fifty nine written submissions were received from members of the public.