Arts groups meet with Taoiseach over fund fears

AN Taoiseach Brian Cowen was among the TDs who met with artists, arts workers and their supporters yesterday in anational day of action, staged by the National Campaign for the Arts.

The Taoiseach met with a delegation in Tullamore, assuring them that “Ireland is a society, not just an economy. The role of the arts is critical. This will be borne in mind when the budget is being drawn up in the coming weeks”.

Among those the Taoiseach met with was 83-year-old John Beesley, who told him he’d “be dead if it weren’t for the arts programmes” at the Clara Day Care Unit he attends. As many as 90 TDs — including Minister for Culture Mary Hanafin and Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan — met with arts groups yesterday and over the weekend as the National Campaign for the Arts makes its case for continued funding for the arts sector.