ABSTRACT
STEVE WILMER The Irish theatre has continued to benefit from a rapidly expanding economy and a
sizeable increase in government subsidy. John O’Donoghue, the new arts minister who
was appointed in June 2002 and whose portfolio was redefined to include sports and
tourism, reported that the government had increased its spending on the arts from
1997 to 2002 by 80%, from 26.4 million to 47.8 million Euros. Before leaving office,
his predecessor, Sile de Valera, announced an ambitious five-year plan that the
funding would increase to 79.8 million Euros by 2006. (However, with a recent down-
turn in the economy and announced cutbacks in governmental budgeting, it remains
to be seen whether the government will sustain this level of growth.) In tandem with
the increased expenditure on the arts, many new theatres have been built or upgraded
both in the Dublin area (such as the new Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire) and
around the country. Furthermore, rather than providing only annual funding to arts
organisations, the arts council has provided increased security for thirteen subsidized
theatres and theatre-oriented organisations (such as Rough Magic, Fishamble and
Meridian theatre companies), providing them with three-year funding.
