Arts Council distributes €43m to 297 organisations

AS the Arts Council today released the specific details of the revenue funding programme offers for 2005, there was cause for celebration for many of the arts organisations in the country, as a 16% increase in funding was reflected in increased allocations for many.

Over €43 million was distributed to events and festivals, production companies and venues around the country.

Amongst the main beneficiaries were the Dublin Theatre Festival, who saw their allocation rise from €590,000 in 2004 to €750,000 for 2005, and the Cork Film Festival, who received an increase of €60,000 to take their total for next year to €250,000.

The Galway Arts Festival’s funding remained static at €380,000, while the Kilkenny Arts Festival went from €340,000 to €365,000. The Willie Clancy Festival, a traditional music festival in Miltown Malbay, Co Clare, will certainly welcome the almost doubling of their funding - from €27,000 to €50,000.

Cork’s Corcadorca rose from €160,000 to €168,000, while the Cork Opera House saw a €10,000 increase to bring them up to €200,000.

Not all was Christmas cheer, however, as some organisations saw their funding reduced. The Irish Writers Centre dropped from €170,000 to €150,000, while Fishamble Theatre Company, in Dublin, took a €20,000 hit to drop down to €210,000.

Arts Council press officer Michelle Hoctor acknowledged that there would be disappointment for some, as they had received 410 applications for funding but had only been able to make offers to 297 organisations, with a further three offers being deferred for a few more weeks.

In 2004, funding of €1,901,300 will have been offered to 32 local authorities. This represents a 21% increase on the 2003 level of €1,565,834. This funding is for the purposes of local authority arts programmes which address key development objectives and priorities of the Arts Council at local level.

The Arts Council makes a contribution towards the salary costs of 18 local authority arts officers.