Sir, – Michael Dervan’s view of the political parties’ manifestos (Culture, January 29th) states that their “proposals are mostly aspirational rather than costed”. I agree that political parties wax lyrical about the arts but Fine Gael is actually backing up our proposals with a massive step-up in funding. We have costed for an additional €165 million in arts, culture and heritage – ie we will be spending €165 million more in this space by 2025. Our 1,500-word arts section outlines our vision for the sector, such as the Creative Children Initiative, ensuring every child in Ireland has access to tuition and participation in art, music, drama and coding by 2022.
Fianna Fáil proposes 10 times less funding (€16 million) while Labour’s 150-word arts section provides no additional funding at all. As for the Greens, I agree with Mr Dervan’s view that their figures are muddled, although I find it harder to agree with his view that “their heart is in the right place”. The Greens failed to publish a costings document along with their manifesto, allowing them to avoid any tough choices. Waxing lyrical is just that unless you can back it up with a costed plan. – Yours, etc,
JOSEPHA MADIGAN,
Minister for Culture,
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Heritage and the Gaeltacht,
Kildare Street, Dublin 2.