Sinn Féin Senator Fintan Warfield has today criticised the government’s failure to publish its roadmap for the creative industries.

Senator Warfield has called on the government to show leadership and take the cultural and creative industries seriously.

Speaking in the Seanad today, Senator Warfield said:

“I am again calling on the Minister for Enterprise and the Minister for Culture to publish the roadmap for the creative industries.

“The Government committed to this in its own Programme for Government in 2020. It is inexcusable that nearly three years later they still have no plan for the creative industries.

“The lack of research and data on Ireland’s creative and cultural industries is embarrassing. When you look to EU Commission documents, from 2019 for example, you see that Ireland’s data comes from 2010. That data is nine years old. I was just out of school. 

“We need to understand the value of our culture. And we need to take it seriously enough to track it on an ongoing basis.

“According to the Creative Ireland website, over one hundred meetings were held with academics, small businesses, industry representatives, and EU officials. A further 120 people took part in three large workshops. 

“Another 150 people from design businesses took part in a survey. There is now a real risk that the Governments inaction and delay means all of that work will be lost.

“The creative economy is one of the world’s fastest-growing sectors. In some European countries 1 in every 20 jobs are in the cultural and creative sector. In fact, in some cities it is as high as 1 in 10. 

“That potential exists in Ireland too. But it requires ambitious engagement by the Irish government, Enterprise Ireland, the Local Enterprise Offices, and the Design and Crafts Council. 

“The government cannot continue to kick the can down the road. The time to act is now.

“If the government don’t prioritise this industry, then Sinn Féin will. 

“Sinn Féin understands the value of our culture and the importance of ensuring that the creative and cultural industry is enabled to thrive.”