Richard Boyd Barrett urges saving north inner city arts complex
Richard Boyd Barrett spoke in the Dáil about the threatened eviction of a multidisciplinary arts complex in Dublin's north inner city and demanded a government commitment of €6 million over four years to prevent its closure. He argued the venue is central to the country's cultural identity and warned that the complex faces eviction in January unless a clear funding commitment and inter-agency action are secured.
He opened by expressing disappointment that the Arts Minister was not present for the debate, stressing that culture and the arts are integral to national identity and international reputation. He told colleagues that the absence was regrettable given the urgency of the complex's situation.
The complex has 30 artists in residence, hundreds of musicians and artists who use the space, and staged 180 events this year. It employs staff and supports hundreds of jobs tied to its operations, and occupies a former fruit warehouse off Cape Street under a lease from a private landlord.
Mr Barrett said the complex faces eviction in early January for the want of €6 million, a sum he described as achievable for a government with a large budget surplus and one that could be provided over four years. He noted the organisation has an in-principle loan of €1.5 million and that a crisis meeting was scheduled that night.
In response, the minister outlined that the Department of Cultural Communications and Sport provides grants to maintain and enhance existing arts facilities but does not fund property purchases or own properties to house the complex. Officials had met the complex's chair in December and reiterated the department's position in June, and the department suggested Dublin City Council may be able to assist.
The complex has been negotiating with a developer for the opportunity to buy back two floors of the building and has engaged with the Department of Finance, the Department of Public Expenditure Reform and Dublin City Council on financing. The CEO, Vanessa Fielding, has written to the department indicating the organisation would seek alternative meaningful space if negotiations fail, and local support for saving the venue was reported as strong.
Disappointment at ministerial absence
He opened by expressing disappointment that the Arts Minister was not present for the debate, stressing that culture and the arts are integral to national identity and international reputation. He told colleagues that the absence was regrettable given the urgency of the complex's situation.
Scale and role of the complex
The complex has 30 artists in residence, hundreds of musicians and artists who use the space, and staged 180 events this year. It employs staff and supports hundreds of jobs tied to its operations, and occupies a former fruit warehouse off Cape Street under a lease from a private landlord.
Financial shortfall and immediate risk
Mr Barrett said the complex faces eviction in early January for the want of €6 million, a sum he described as achievable for a government with a large budget surplus and one that could be provided over four years. He noted the organisation has an in-principle loan of €1.5 million and that a crisis meeting was scheduled that night.
Government and departmental responsibilities
In response, the minister outlined that the Department of Cultural Communications and Sport provides grants to maintain and enhance existing arts facilities but does not fund property purchases or own properties to house the complex. Officials had met the complex's chair in December and reiterated the department's position in June, and the department suggested Dublin City Council may be able to assist.
Negotiations and next steps
The complex has been negotiating with a developer for the opportunity to buy back two floors of the building and has engaged with the Department of Finance, the Department of Public Expenditure Reform and Dublin City Council on financing. The CEO, Vanessa Fielding, has written to the department indicating the organisation would seek alternative meaningful space if negotiations fail, and local support for saving the venue was reported as strong.
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Transcript
I'm a little bit disappointed we don't have the Arts Minister, with no due respect to you, but you're a minister for a department that has nothing to do with this. So I want to express that disappointment. But look, our identity as a country, our history, our heritage, is totally tied up with culture and the arts. Probably more than most countries, our identity and reputation internationally is linked to the arts, music. We have an amazing pool of artists, poets, writers, musicians, dancers. You can go through the list. And nowhere exemplifies that more than an institution like the complex that has been in the north inner city for 17 years. The north inner city and the north side of the Dublin city generally doesn't have much in the way of arts venues. It's already been referenced by Deputy Sherlock. Many of these spaces have closed down. There are 30 artists in residence in the complex. Hundreds of musicians, artists and so on use it. There's been 180 events just this year in the complex. There are staff. There are hundreds of people whose employment is linked to the complex. And they're going to be evicted and effectively closed down in early January for the want of 6 million euro. Which they don't even need immediately. They need it over four years. They need a commitment from the government to save this venue. Now that is a small amount of money for a government that has a big budget surplus. So they're looking for a commitment. And what they don't want is pass the parcel between the Department of Arts, the Department of Finance, the Office of Public Works. They want a commitment to work with the other agencies, doesn't City Council, Department of Arts, the relevant departments. They had engaged with Pascal Donoghue when he was Minister and with Jack Chambers and believed they were going to get the help they need. But now they are facing D-Day. There's a crisis meeting happening tonight. They have huge local support. Please intervene and save the complex. Thank you, Mr. Margaret. Thank you. And for one of my breakers, I do say, go all the talk to Sherlock, I guess, by Barrett. As I know, I will talk to you, I will talk to you, I will talk to you, I will talk to you, I will talk to you, I will talk to you, I will talk to you. And I agree with the members that our identity and reputation is linked intricately. And I am taking this matter for the Minister, as you know. Government places great value on culture and the arts sector. As that were in the programme for Government. We recognise that they are an essential to a well-rounded society providing opportunities for education, expression and community engagement. As the deputies are aware and outlined, the complex is a multidisciplinary arts and creative venue in Dublin's north inner city governed by a not-for-profit limited company by guarantee. The complex has been leasing its building a form of fruit warehouse off Cape Street from a private landlord and a site ring-fenced for redevelopment. It is my understanding that the Centre has been in negotiations with the developer for a partnership in which the complex will be given the opportunity to buy back two floors. The complex CLG has, in principle, secured a loan of 1.5 million towards the purchase. I understand that the complex have stated that talks have taken place with the Department of Finance, the Department of Public Expenditure Reform, and Dublin City Council to assist with the finance of this offer. An initial business case undertaken by Forfus Mazars. And as members be aware, the Department of Cultural Communications and Sport was not part of this engagement. The Department provides grants as a contribution towards maintaining and enhancing existing arts and cultural facilities, but does not provide funding for the purchase of any property. The provision of local arts and cultural infrastructure is, as you heard this morning, Deputy Sherlock, a matter of the first instance for the local authorities. Officials in the Department were with the Chair of the complex and other members of the team in December of last year, and the advisor of the position and further communication in June of this year reiterated that position. In any event, no funding was sought from the department for the purchase of the building by the complex and any grant for republishing support, I am informed would require a changeable title to be in place. It is my information that at present the complex has been given notice to quit in January of next year, and I am sure that this is, as we have heard in your article quite eloquently, a matter of huge distress, not just for the staff and the board, but for all the artists who use the complex on a regular basis and others. While I fully understand that negotiations are still ongoing with the developer, I am informed that the CEO of Vanessa Fielding has written to the department advising that they will be looking for a meaningful space to move into, should there not be a positive outcome to these discussions. While the department does not own any properties and is therefore not in a position to assist the complex in this regard, it is my hope that Dublin City Council may be able to assist them in the matter. The minister is acutely aware of the pressures that artists and creative spaces find in finding suitable workplaces and work spaces, especially here in our capital city, and that lack of space has been a significant barrier for artists, limiting their ability to create and exhibit work. The department recognise that local authorities can play a vital role in delivering the infrastructure necessary to provide a number of artists' work spaces nationwide. That is why in the year of 2023, the department allocated €3 million in funding to space to create an initiative that aims to provide up to 60 artists' work spaces in Dublin City, in partnership with Dublin City Council. In addition, the department launched the artist's work space scheme in June of 2024, which had a £6 million pilot capital funding scheme for local authorities to increase the provision of artists' work spaces across Ireland. The primary focus of this pilot scheme is to provide funding to local authorities to enable them to provide additional capacity and availability of artists' work space in their regions on a sustainable basis. Local authorities are invited to propose projects which can accommodate and address the demand for artists' work spaces in the regions and produce work spaces that are fit for purpose, designed and focused and accessible. And I'll conclude by saying this, Keown Cora. I hear what the members are saying. I am taking on behalf of the minister. I will articulate your views back. I understand that the reply doesn't give you the answer that you desire and that you want, but I am aware that the department are, as you know, genuinely looking for a satisfactory resolution. I do hope that there will be a resolution. Thank you, minister. I guess my focus is going to be my focus and I'll talk to you so often. I will talk to you so often. Good morning. Good morning. Minister, for the Department of Arts to wash their hands of a vibrant and vital artistic and cultural space home to hundreds of artists, it's just, I mean, it's crazy. Now, whatever about the finer points of demarcation between OPW, Department of Finance and local authorities, for the Department of Arts to be indifferent to this or to say it's nothing to do with us, that's just not good enough, right? But there needs to be banging heads together here. There's a crisis meeting happening this evening in the complex where artists, local people from the local community, there's a big marathon planned for the 17 and 18 and 19 gig with 45 bands and performers. They have 15,000 signatures behind them. This is a huge hit for the local community, for the artistic community, the musical community, the theatrical community, you name it, for the price of 6 million over four years. A commitment. It's buttons. It's really buttons compared to the services and the money that's available to the government to save this vital space. So if we're serious about a commitment to arts and culture, this is a very small amount of money to save a lot of artists and to do something for the North Inner City and that community. I hear what the deputies are saying. I bring that contributions back to the minister and to the department. I think it is fair to say, Ciancora, the minister is supportive of investment in the physical infrastructure of culture and arts venues, both at a regional level and in regional locations, to ensure support for a vibrant local culture life with high-quality programming. The department has an extensive grants program as a contribution towards maintaining and enhancing arts and cultural facilities, but as you heard this morning, Deputy Charlotte, it doesn't provide funding for the purchase of buildings, and that's maybe something that needs to be looked at in the wider context. The minister has strengthened the funding for arts capital in the budget, and a 6 million allocation has been allocated for a new funding program for arts and cultural centres that he plans to launch next year. As previously stated, the minister is acutely aware of the pressures that artists and creative spaces face in finding suitable work spaces, in particular here in our capital city. The lack of space, I agree, has been a significant barrier and is a source of frustration, limiting the ability to create and exhibit work in particular. The department has two schemes supporting local authorities across the country to provide additional capacity and availability of arts and workspaces in the region, regions on a sustainable basis. In this instance, however, the department, I'm informed, is not in a position to provide funding for the purchase of the property that's been mentioned today here, but I think it's important, as Deputy Boyd Barrett said, that arising from tonight's meeting, that there is ongoing negotiation and consultation. And I'll bring your views back to the department, and thank you for raising the matter this afternoon. Good morning. Thank you.