The market for shamrocks and shillelaghs is gasping its last breath, the chairwoman of the Crafts Council of Ireland, Dr Frances Ruane, said yesterday. She was speaking as the organisation's new three-year plan was introduced by the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, at Dublin Castle.
The plan will encourage excellence and innovation within the sector and hopefully increase the professional income of craftspeople by 12 per cent.
Ms Harney said it was important that the council had such a blueprint. "The industry is under enormous pressure from international counterparts and low-cost economies, and there should be an even greater emphasis on design and innovation ."
She said she was a "terrific fan" of the sector, which employed 6,000 people in 1,800 companies and would have a turnover of £92 million this year. She did her Christmas shopping at a craft fair in Dublin each year.
Earlier, she viewed a selection of works by Irish designers which had won excellence awards at trade shows in Britain. These included copper vessels by Kate Oram and Catherine Bond's "curvy" cushion.
Dr Ruane said the challenge for the craft industry was to renew traditional forms and handcraft skills, to reinvent and reinvigorate them for the 21st century. Riverdance was one contemporary example of such reinvention.
She said marketing initiatives were planned to increase the sales of craft enterprises. The council would become a voice for the industry, providing information and intelligence about products and craftspeople.
Key objectives of the plan also include a crafts council portal Website comprising 50 related sites designed to provide a wider market for the industry.
There are plans to double to 500 the number of craft companies which hold the council's quality mark and to explore the possibility of a unified policy on industry development with craft workers in Northern Ireland. A touring exhibition programme will be organised to promote the best of contemporary crafts.
Dr Ruane said that to implement the plan the council's annual income of £2.6 million would need to be doubled. "The Crafts Council of Ireland's vision is that the Irish craft be recognised and valued at home and around the world. We intend to take the lead in promoting the industry and in raising the level of public consciousness and appreciation of craft," she said.