Gerard Howlin: The arts reflect our nation’s soul, and have been badly neglected

Culture will hardly feature in the first head-to-head debate between incumbent Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the challenger, Micheál Martin, on Virgin Media Television tomorrow night.

Artists are showcased to suit the State, but politically they are decorative attendants only. Art is a tool to do other things. It is too little understood or valued for itself. It is showcased on big occasions, but an understanding of the value of a deeper experience is absent.