Deep cuts on the horizon for Northern Ireland’s arts budget

The arts community in Northern Ireland is reeling from the news that the Northern Ireland Executive is proposing 9% cuts in the 2011-15 budget for the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) – one of the largest cuts facing any government department. Furthermore, within the overall draft budget, the arts have been earmarked for a 14% cut: annual funding for the Arts Council of Northern Ireland is set to fall from £14m to £12m, with the majority of the cuts to be implemented in years two, three and four. This equates to a total cash reduction of £4.2m. ACNI is gearing up a campaign to “vigorously challenge this unfair draft settlement for the arts” and is urging arts organisations to make their case to the Assembly.

In September 2010, Arts Council Chief Executive Roisin McDonough made the case for sustaining Northern Ireland’s arts budget to the Culture, Arts and Leisure Committee, highlighting a pattern of consistent under-funding in comparison with the other UK arts councils , and the failure of the Government to deliver on its promise of “back-loaded extra funding” during the current budget period. Responding to the news of the proposed cuts, she said: “All we ask for is a fair deal for the arts, but the arts sector is instead being asked to shoulder a disproportionate share of the public sector cuts… Spending on the arts is tiny in relation to other departments, so any savings made by cutting the arts budget will make next to no difference to Northern Ireland’s financial deficit… Northern Ireland appears to be alone amongst the devolved administrations in proposing such severe reductions to its arts budget.”
The consultation on the draft budget will continue until 9 February. A Facebook site, Fair Deal For The Arts NI, has been set up to gather responses to the consultation, and ACNI is giving guidance on how the arts sector can best make its case.