Sir, – I have just come from one of those Creative Ireland public workshops. More fatuous Fine Gael hackery with no substance to back it up; a huge policy rollout where it chooses to consult the culture sector after the fact instead of before it.
Just like last time, when anyone who has spent decades working in the arts in Ireland could have told Fine Gael that its policy on private philanthropy in the arts would fail. Just as it did not listen then, while pouring huge amounts of money down the drain of private consultancy on a doomed policy, it is doing it all over again, this time spending a fortune on a huge lip-service exercise which will not survive the next change in government.
It is setting goals that would have been achieved a long time ago if the culture sector were properly resourced. The very same goals I and thousands have tried to achieve for decades without adequate resources. Now they are setting a stall up dressed in all kinds of lovely theory with no actual funding for making anything happen.
John Boorman said the art of film-making was the art of turning money into light – the same goes for every other cultural sphere. Money is the greatest creativity tool of all.
I suppose without real State assistance, we are meant to believe in the ability of the unseen hand of the market place to deliver – just as it has for housing, education and health provision.
I felt sorry for the full-time civil servants who had to sit there without any freedom to call out their political masters for the balderdash-mongers they are. – Yours, etc,
PATRICK COTTER,
Cork.