Arts Plan 2012-2016 - Offaly County Council

Economic Value26offaly county councilThis plan is being written in the grips of aneconomic recession, in a climate whereprioritising support for cultural development ischallenging. The current measures of austerity inpublic finances and service delivery are set tocontinue over the majority of this plan. How wewill maintain our support of local culturaldevelopment is uncertain. However, we do knowthat much has been highlighted in terms of thesignificance of supporting the arts during thistime, from:■ The first Global Irish Economic Forum atFarmleigh in September 2009 placed a newstrategic priority on culture as a unique longtermstrength and door-opener for economicrecovery.■ The arts continue to be a major employer andcontributor to Irish economic output; in 2010the Arts Council’s annual funding from theExchequer supported over 2,600 jobs which inturn generated an annual turnover of €135million with tax revenues (in the form ofPAYE/income tax, PRSI and VAT), to the IrishExchequer of €41 million.■ The arts sector supports 21,328 jobs andcontributes €306.8 million in taxes.■ The arts too impact on the wider creativeindustry contributing €4.7 billion to theeconomy and supporting 79,000 jobs■ Imagine Ireland was Culture Ireland’s yearlongcelebration of Irish arts in the UnitedStates in 2011, to reshape and reinvigoratenotions of Ireland, what it means to be Irishand the potential for Ireland into the future.The second Global Economic Forum at DublinCastle in October 2011, invited cultural figures ofinternational standing to participate whichresulted in a proposal to boost cultural tourism bycreating a global Irish homecoming in 2013.While these are national and internationalstatistics and initiatives, there is much we canachieve on a local level to support growththrough cultural development, and these areoutlined further in the following strategic areas.The arts are a significant economic contributor and employer in their own right, but they are alsoimportant building blocks for those economic policies the Government has identified as crucialfor our economic recovery. The arts underpin policies in attracting foreign direct investment, inthe creation of an imaginative labour force, in establishing an innovative environment in whichthe creative and cultural industries can thrive and in cultural tourism. By focusing on the arts asan element of social and economic renewal, we are playing to our strengths.Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht - 16 Nov 2011In recent years we have been challenged to realize the economic importanceof the arts. In 2010 the direct and indirect value of the creative sector was€11.8bn - if they were never important for economy, they were alwaysimportant in their own right.Mary Hanafin TD Minister for Tourism Cultureand Sport, Douglas Hyde Conference, 15 Oct. 2010