Fergus Finlay: miserly sum an insult to all those involved in the arts in Ireland

Our government has chosen the time when we most need artistic endeavour to lift our spirits to treat the arts with contempt. Now that is genuinely contemptible.

An artist by the name of John Paul painting outside Trinity College in Dublin during the lockdown. Photo:Gareth Chaney/Collins

I need to simmer down. I have seldom been more disgusted by a government pronouncement, more irritated by the smugness of a government minister, and more enraged by the bureaucracy of a state body.

As I read and followed what they’ve done — ostensibly to protect artists and the arts during the crisis caused by the pandemic — I found myself thinking, who the hell are these people?