Report on the Development of Local and Community Arts published by Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media published its Report on the Development of Local and Community Arts on 11 July 2024. The report includes a number of significant recommendations in relation to Arts and Health, specifically in the areas of policy and funding, following a public hearing and submissions from the sector.

Background
Gráinne Hope, former Chair of Arts and Health Coordinators Ireland (AHCI), shared the collective expertise and recommendations of AHCI members at a public oral hearing in 2023. AHCI recommended that state bodies and agencies prioritise and improve the policy frameworks that support Arts and Health at national and local government levels, including the updating of the Arts Council of Ireland’s Arts & Health Policy (2010-2014).

AHCI also called for the inclusion of Arts and Health professionals as key experts in the design and development of Arts and Health policy and programmes, both nationally and locally. The final recommendation was to improve sustainability and standards for the sector through greater investment and better resourcing for education and training in the field of Arts and Health, including good conditions and fair pay for artists.

Read the AHCI statement here.

In their written submission to the Committee, AHCI outlined key challenges facing arts and health practice in Ireland, including:

• Inconsistent governance arrangements;
• Inadequate long-term funding;
• Lack of an up-to-date national policy for arts and health;
• Lack of a framework for implementing and delivering arts and health practice in local government policies;
• The need for ongoing arts and health expertise and leadership.

Réalta / Waterford Healing Arts also provided a written submission recommending Arts and Health as a focus area in each Council Development Plan, and calling for local government to prioritise partnership-building with local healthcare settings and arts organisations, and training for arts practitioners and healthcare staff.

The Committee made the following recommendations for Arts and Health: 

• That the Arts Council review and update its Arts and Health policy and strategy document of 2010-2014 to inform policy direction in the area of arts and health.
• That the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media build upon its cross-departmental collaboration with the Department of Health to provide multiannual funding to support and develop arts and health practices.
• That the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media collaborate with the Health Service Executive to develop and fund arts and health provision within local healthcare settings.

Report on the Development of Local and Community Arts
Recommendations were made in relation to the following topics analysed by the Committee: Developing Arts in Irish Localities, Arts and Disability, Arts and Cultural Diversity, Arts and Health, Arts and Older People and Public Art.

“Important themes which emerged throughout the course of the Committee’s deliberations include funding structures and supports for the arts in urban and rural localities, support for amateur arts provision, inclusivity of disabled artists and audiences as well as artists and audiences from migrant and ethnic minority communities, arts and health policies, supports for older people engaging in the arts, as well as policies governing public art murals.” – Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Niamh Smyth TD

In the area of Arts and Older People, the Committee recommended that the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media increases investment in the Creativity in Older Age Scheme for its continued operation and to further develop the Scheme in home, community and healthcare settings and to facilitate increased engagement with professional artists.

Read the full report here.