Irish Art Gets €16m Extra

The Irish art and cultural sector was yesterday awarded extra funding of €16.4 million (£11.1 million) for this year. Arts minister John O’ Donoghue gave the Arts Council €7.5 million (£5 million) of the allocation, while the Irish Film Board got €2.3 million (£1.6 million). Mr O’Donoghue said the art funding had been sourced from savings within his department. In all, 29 arts and cultural projects will benefit from the funding. A record total of €79.81 million (£54 million) has been allocated to the Arts Council this year, an increase of 20.5 per cent on the 2005 allocation. Mr O’Donoghue said: “Our goal is to encourage as many people as possible to participate in the arts and to also make the arts attractive to people throughout the country.” For the full story - click the title Irish Art