Cuts in arts budget short sighted

The treating of the Arts Council as a quango by the Government in their frantic effort to apply slash and cut tactics to save money is short sighted.

Our culture, be it Irish dancing, music, singing, literature, films or painting, has done so much for the wellbeing of our society. It has given us deserved recognition throughout the world for our artistic and merited achievements. It is not the concrete remains of half-built housing estates that are dotted around the country that makes you proud to be an Irishman(woman). I can tell you now that there will be no tourists flocking to our shores in the short or long term to study the graffiti or listen to birds flying in and out through broken windows to get to their nests in these concrete jungles.

Our culture has been used to sell Ireland and attract visitors for years upon years. Just think of the Book of Kells as part of our heritage to the phenomenon of Riverdance that spread like wildfire around the globe, which would never have happened if it was not supported in the embryo stages by the Arts Council.