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Photo from left to right: Padraig Murray, Irish Equity President, Senator Ivana Bacik, Karan OLoughlin, SIPTU National Campaigns and Equality Organiser and Bryan Murray, Irish Equity outside Leinster House on Wednesday 6th July calling on all Senators to support the Competition Amendment Bill.
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SIPTU General President, Jack O Connor, has stated that the victory of the Leave campaign in the British referendum on EU membership results from the implementation of austerity policies that have alienated working people across Europe.

O’Connor said: “The vote for Brexit is the result of the years of austerity which have alienated working people all over Europe. Unless there is a dramatic shift in fiscal policy and an immediate end to one sided austerity the end of the European project is now inevitable.

“The UK result will add immense momentum to the hard right across the continent and will fuel demands for referendums in the Netherlands, France and several other countries.”

He added: “The policy of prioritising banks over people must end at once. Europe desperately needs a new deal entailing a massive public investment strategy to generate sustainable jobs. This must be accompanied by a series of measures to secure people’s rights at work in face of the relentless ‘race to the bottom’ in wages and working conditions.”

Irish Equity and SIPTU have endorsed a statement issued by the National Campaign for the Arts which calls on the Government to create a Department dedicated to the arts, culture and heritage.

The call follows the announcement by the Government that it intends to place the arts along with rural affairs and regional development in a new Department.
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Despite the precariousness of working as an artist in Ireland, when asked in a recent survey if they would again choose to work as artists ‘if they were starting over’, an overwhelming majority (i.e. 82%) of Irish artists said yes, with just 6% saying no and 12% unsure. A key reason for this for many artists was the fact that many felt drawn to arts as a ‘vocation’ and that their work provided career and personal fulfilment.

When asked about the factors that had held back their career development as artists, the most cited factor was the lack of financial returns. This was followed by a lack of work opportunities, a lack of time for creative work, a lack of access to funding and other financial supports. A third set of factors revolved around their ability to ‘supply’ arts works, including a desire for more or better space or equipment, more time and more networks of artists.

Working as a professional artist constitutes a difficult and uncertain way to make a living. Despite relatively high levels of education, work patterns are volatile and many artists report leading stressful lives in which they found it hard to obtain or maintain a good work-life balance, and in which periods of unemployment are common. Income levels are low relative to other workers and many report difficulty in making ends meet. The fact that both work and income could be volatile created uncertainty and made planning difficult.

In order to acquire an updated picture of the reality of life for Ireland’s artists including performers and creators of art as we emerge from the economic crisis, it is vital that we develop an accurate study that will provide the information necessary to build a road map for a better future for Artists in Ireland.

Acting work does not generally correspond to what is usually considered ‘typical’ work, with much of it seasonal, short-term and contract based, or not based on any contract at all.

Actors spend just under two-thirds of their working time working in their profession with the remainder divided between other work or unemployment. Almost half of the time that actors spend working as actors is spent in either unpaid or speculative work with about one-third reporting not normally having written employment contracts. Just two in five professional actors spend all of their time working as actors, often or always working more than 55 hours a week.

Empirical evidence estimates that the average income of professional actors from their work as actors is under €15,000, with half earning €8,000 or less and very few have pension provision.

Just because you are on TV or in Film does not mean that you know where your next pay cheque is coming from. The fact is that majority of actors live a stressful and uncertain life regardless of what is portrayed in the print media.

To: Minister Heather Humphreys

Give arts, culture and heritage the respect it deserves by creating an independent Department and setting a funding target of 0.6% of GDP (the EU average spend on arts/culture). Ireland has one of the lowest levels of public support in the EU.CLICK HERE