Picture: Sean Curtin
ROLL up to Belltable at 69 O’Connell Street on Monday February 22 at 1pm for democracy and “lunchtime hustings”. Organised by venue programmer Lime Tree Theatre, marketing manager Gill Fenton says that all candidates standing for election in Limerick city are invited to outline what their policy for the Arts is, should they be elected February 26.
The spur is that Ireland’s funding of the Arts is the lowest in Europe per citizen. Council of Europe data shows that in 2012 Ireland spent just 0.11 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) on the arts and culture, compared to a European average of 0.6 per cent of GDP.
“Who can we depend on when elected to maintain and increase the funding for the Arts, nationally and locally?”
It is our place as individuals to probe, and each candidate will get a maximum of three minutes to respond with their policy/ direction. A Q&A session will follow, all to be wrapped in about 60mins.
