The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms Sile de Valera, launched an Arts Planfor the next five at the Arts Council¿s offices in Dublin today.
The plan, the third to be prepared by the Arts Council, includes an overall budget of €314,000,000.
This marks a 46 per cent increase in average yearly funding.
Ms de Valera also announced an increase of 30 per cent in the number of staff employed by the Arts Council.
Speaking at the launch the Minister said the aims of the plan were to:
- Make an arts career a realistic ambition for artists
- Broaden and enrich participation in the arts
- Raise standards in arts management
- Broaden and enhance audiences for the arts
- Extend internationally Irish arts and artists
- Bring the arts closer to local communities
The chairman of the Arts Council Mr Patrick J Murphy called the plan "visionary and exciting" and welcomed the staff increases endorsed by the Government.
The Arts Council is a voluntary body of 16 members and a chairman appointed by the Minister for a term of 5 years.
