The National Campaign for the Arts warmly welcomes the findings of a major new economic report commissioned by the Arts Council and suggesting that the arts is a greater contributor to the Irish economy that generally credited by the country’s policymakers.
The report, which was carried out by Indecon Economic Consultants, and released by the Arts Council yesterday, claims that of the €76 million that is used in the funding of arts organizations across Ireland €54 million is returned directly to the Exchequer in the form of income, VAT and other taxes.
It also establishes that the economic impact of the wider arts sector is significantly greater than anticipated with a Gross Added Value of €782 million, total expenditure of €1.8 billion, 26,519 jobs and tax revenue of €352 million. The influential role of the arts in the creative industries is also highlighted and here Gross Added Value is calculated at €5.5 billion, and total employment is 96,000.
Director of the Abbey Theatre and spokesperson for the National Campaign for the Arts, Fiach Mac Conghail, says, “one of the key goals of the National Campaign for the Arts has been the maintenance of current levels of funding to the Arts Council because we have always accepted that the arts plays a vital role in the Irish economy. We are delighted that this report, wisely commissioned by the Arts Council, now clearly demonstrates this to be true and we hope that those in government with the power and ambition to implement Ireland’s economic recovery will consider these findings seriously. The arts and cultural sector are able and willing to contribute to the economic and social recovery of our nation.”