Local talent should get centre stage

CORK Opera House is saying, in effect, to the people of Cork city and county to come in during a recession and line the pockets of foreign artists and production companies.

And that’s what the Cork City Council (CCC) thinks “supporting the arts” is all about.

Surely if CCC had conditioned its funding to the Opera House, insisting local artists were included in the programming, we would see ticket revenues going back into Cork, maintaining jobs and boosting the local economy.