When John O'Donoghue was appointed minister for the arts, there was a sense of apprehension in the wider arts community, a concern that he might not possess the level of interest to listen and engage, or make him the ideal advocate at the cabinet table or, more especially, with those who control the Exchequer coffers. As it turned out, he was more than able, and impressively so, in the role and earned the respect of the sector.
The key to the minister's success - apart from his own determination to prove wrong the perception that the arts would be the poor relation in his department - was his decision to appoint an arts adviser from within the heart of the community who could pass on the kind of insight and expertise that only someone with such a background could provide.
So far, there has been no sign of the new Minister, Séamus Brennan, following suit with a similar appointment and the signal seems to be that he has no intention of doing so. Perhaps even more disappointing is the lack, up to the present, of any real indication of the Minister's own thinking on the arts. There is, for instance, an arts plan in existence, Partnership for the Arts 2006-2008, that sets out commitments from Government; how does he intend to ensure these are adhered to?
Such is the sense of unease - at recent funding decisions by the Arts Council - that a large group of arts professionals is now seeking to meet Mr Brennan. In the wake of the recent disappointment at the low level of funding increases offered to a number of organisations - identified as "strategically important" by the council - the request is timely. An open letter on the website of the lobbying organisation, Theatre Forum, reminds the Minister of Fianna Fáil's pre-election arts manifesto commitment, confirmed in the programme for government, towards multi-annual funding for the Arts Council.
Without a move in that direction, the council itself can only continue to repeat the kind of dismal increases that recently had arts organisations wondering whether there was any point to advance planning. With or without an arts adviser, the fulfilment of this commitment - in reality, bringing the council's resources up to the €100 million figure that is regarded as necessary to facilitate multi-annual funding - is one of the major challenges facing Mr Brennan, a Minister of long experience, well capable of building on the achievements of his predecessor. Otherwise, as the open letter suggests, "failure to implement such measures will result in a collapse of faith within the arts sector as to the Government's intention to deliver on its own arts plan".