According to figures in the Arts Council’s annual report for 2014, funding for the Deis traditional arts scheme fell by 26%, from €260,235 in 2013 to €191,947 in 2014, although Arts Council income for the same period fell by only 7%. 

Funding under the Deis scheme, which was introduced in 2005 as a way of directly supporting traditional musicians due to a 2004 report that identified historic underfunding, has been in decline for several years. It has fallen 73% since the allocated budget of €700,000 in 2008, although Arts Council income since then has fallen by only 31%.

The total annual budgets for the Deis scheme since 2005 can be seen below:

2005 – €70,500 (pilot year)
2006 – €609,939
2007 – €604,370
2008 – €700,000
2009 – €418,110
2010 – €351,038
2011 – €408,004
2012 – €381,388
2013 – €260,235
2014 – €191,947

Other traditional music initiatives totalling €55,000 were introduced by the Arts Council in 2014, including €33,000 on the Tradition Now festival at the National Concert Hall, €10,000 on a Traditional Arts Residency at UCC, and €12,000 on the commissioning of a report on the harp sector. 

The Arts Council also supports the traditional arts through the Traditional Arts Commissions award, the Festivals and Events Scheme, and touring and programming awards, although total expenditure on traditional arts under these schemes is not specified in the Annual Report.

The Arts Council also funds the Irish Traditional Music Archive and Na Píobairí Uilleann. The funding for ITMA – at which the Chair of the Arts Council spoke last week – was €615,000 in 2014, reduced from €625,000 in 2013, while funding for NPU was €334,000, down from €343,000 in 2013.

ITMA’s funding has declined by 10% since 2008, from €680,740. NPU’s has decreased by 16%, from €397,240, in the same period.

Additional music initiatives introduced by the Arts Council in recent years include the Opera Production Award, which was allocated €1,170,196 in 2012, €764,000 in 2013 and €1,093,000 in 2014.

To read the Arts Council’s 2014 report, visit http://bit.ly/1WA5rSv