merrion street

Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, addressed the closing of the All-Ireland Performing Arts Conference at the Millennium Forum Derry.

This year’s conference, entitled Change, took place over the 11th and 12th of June 2013 and was jointly presented by Theatre Forum and Northern Ireland Theatre Association (NITA).

The aim of this conference was to provide an opportunity for the performing arts community to come together and to share knowledge and information, and discuss the issues faced today. Minister Deenihan acknowledged the development of the arts across Ireland. He praised the sector’s ongoing work with their respective Arts Councils and noted the important role the arts play in the social wellbeing of Irish citizens.

"The arts in Ireland are highly development, despite the downturn. As a result, the arts now play an increasingly important part in the social wellbeing of Irish citizens.

"The arts also play a vital role in the economy, especially in job creation and tourism. 3,000 jobs are directly supported within the arts with a further 27,000 in the creative sector giving an indirect but truly positive economic effect” the Minister said.

Minister Deenihan was joined by his Northern Ireland counterpart Carál Ní Chuilín, MLA, Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, the Chairs of both Theatre Forum and NITA and Mr Martin Bradley, Chair of City of Culture Company and Millennium Forum in the closing of the conference.