Séamas O'Reilly: Arts funding rows hurt artists who struggle to break even

"...it is hard to avoid the sense that the Government’s newfound notions of austerity will skip right past the men in suits and pass directly to the artists who rely on government funding to pursue their work, at very little cost to the State, and to all our collective benefit."

Séamas O'Reilly. Picture: Orfhlaith Whelan

On Monday, arts minister Patrick O’Donovan was reported to be sending a letter to the various bodies overseen by his department, insisting their budgets will be thoroughly scrutinised going forward.

This came after recent revelations that the Arts Council had spent €6.7m on an IT system that did not work, in another case of manic overpayment from a government that seems addicted to them.