Traditional Irish arts should not be ring-fenced from other areas of arts as they would stagnate and be ghettoised, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, said yesterday.
The Minister was speaking at the committee stage of the Arts Bill 2002 where amendments were discussed at the Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
He said that there were strong arguments for and against a standing committee on traditional Irish arts which would make recommendations to the Arts Council.
Under the legislation such a standing committee would be the only one with powers of financial disbursement, he said.
"I say this should not be the case as it places it in a different category to other areas of arts.
"It is not right to ring-fence traditional Irish arts as it will stagnate and ghettoise them," the Minister said.
The Minister was responding to Mr Jack Wall TD, Labour spokesman on arts, sport and tourism, who said people wanted the traditional arts developed and yet this aspect seemed to have created a major problem and was the most contentious part of the Bill.
The Minister said it was a difficult area. Some argued traditional arts had not received enough money and others were opposed to a standing committee. The two conflicting arguments had come from the traditional arts sector itself.
There were those making a strong argument that there should be a standing committee with powers on funding and recommending to the Arts Council what that should be.
Against that was the argument that this would create an arts council within an arts council, he said. People opposed to a traditional arts standing committee made the point that it would marginalise, ghettoise or stagnate the traditional arts.
The Minister said there had to be a very serious debate on the issue.
It was important that members of the Oireachtas had the opportunity to discuss this matter in its entirety.
"I have put forward both sides of the argument and also indicated that I'm not happy with the legislation as it stands. In my opinion it should be changed," the Minister said.
He added that he did not believe it was constructive to place traditional and contemporary arts as opposites. Where did that place the Chieftains or Riverdance?
Mr Jimmy Deenihan TD, Fine Gael spokesman on the arts, sport and tourism, called for an amendment which would allow for regional representatives on the Arts Council and that all members should not be appointed by the Minister.
The Minister replied that having regional members would mean that they would not take an overview of the situation and this was not desirable.