CULTURAL BUSINESSES in Dublin’s Temple Bar brought in an estimated €50 million in revenue last year according to the preliminary results of a survey of 81 cultural and creative industries (CCIs) in the area.
The survey, conducted by the Temple Bar Cultural Trust in the past six months, indicates that the industry provided around 700 equivalent full-time jobs in 2011, and attracted half a million visitors to 16 of these industries last year.
The release of these preliminary survey results coincide with a conference to be held in Temple Bar this week entitled Culture and the Economy, which will examine the value to society of Irish culture industries as well as their economic contribution.
Dermot McLaughlin, chief executive of Temple Bar Cultural Trust, said it was increasingly important to examine the economic worth of cultural industries in times of economic difficulty. “We are acutely aware that the cultural economy is under increasing public funding pressure because there is less grant aid, while the more consumer-based businesses are also struggling with lower consumer confidence as people have less disposable income.”
He said they were now harvesting the data collected through the surveys, which were distributed in November 2011. “We are getting direct access to management and financial information from the CCIs which is really useful . . . There’s a great sense of common purpose that we need to get this information and start using it. What we aim to have by the end of year is a really accurate comprehensive picture of what the contribution of the cultural economy in Temple Bar is to Dublin and to Ireland.”
Mr McLaughlin said to date the survey had shown that half a million people visited 16 of the surveyed businesses last year, although he noted that these included some of the higher profile organisations such as the Irish Film Institute, the Ark and Temple Bar Gallery.
He said there was also a cultural worth to the area which could not be captured in figures. “The numbers bolster the argument, but economists are saying there are also less tangible assets: things like the importance of place, meaningful experiences. There’s something more to it than a collection of buildings or the facilities: it’s trying to put a value on living culture and authentic experiences.”
He said the conference, which begins tomorrow, aims to bring economists, thinkers and local industries together to “find out what are the best ways of making sense of the figures and resources we have”.
The conference, which takes place in the Wood Quay venue of Dublin Civic Offices, will feature contributions from David Throsby, a professor of economics at Macquarie University, Sydney, and an expert on cultural economics; John O’Hagan, a professor of economics at Trinity College, Dublin; Finbarr Bradley, who teaches in UCD while running innovation programmes; and Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton.