Speech by Mr Brendan Howlin TD, Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform

 National Concert Hall Patrons and Corporate Associates Gala Dinner

 Wednesday 19th November, 2014.

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen

 I am delighted to have been asked to join you this evening and to say a few words of thanks – and encouragement – to you as patrons, sponsors and corporate supporters of the National Concert Hall.

 I consider myself very fortunate, as a Wexford man, to come from a town that boasts Ireland’s foremost music festival, Wexford Festival Opera, and so to have more than a little knowledge of both the intrinsic value of music and the enormous economic and social impact of festivals such as Wexford and venues such as the National Concert Hall.

I am also deeply conscious and appreciative of the vital role played by the corporate sector and individual philanthropists in helping to sustain such organisations and the significance and importance of a vibrant and active friends and patrons programme.

 As I am talking to the converted, I know I do not have to wax too lyrical about this great national cultural institution. We all know the place it has in the country’s artistic and musical life and Simon has already given us a vivid picture of what a busy place this is.

 But perhaps maybe not all of you realise that, as we sit in these elegant surroundings, not every part of this site is quite so luxurious. Some time ago I was fascinated to be shown around the less glamorous parts of these buildings by the CEO and so to get a clearer understanding of both the wonderful opportunity that exists here and also the size of the challenge – these are, after all, buildings that are a century old or more.

 In fact, next May the National Concert Hall will hold events to celebrate 150 years of cultural and educational innovation and excellence on this site, marking the opening in May 1865 of the International Exhibition of Arts and Manufacturing for which this site was originally developed.

 I am delighted that in another historical context – the Decade of Commemorations and specifically the anniversary of 1916 – the Government has provided funding to get the National Concert Hall’s ambitious development plans underway. This will consist of the restoration and re-purposing of the historic Kevin Barry Rooms on the first floor of the building. These were originally the council chambers of the then Royal University which were the setting in December 1921 and January 1922 of a seminal moment in Irish history: the lengthy and momentous debates of the second Dail following the signing in London by Michael Collins and his delegation of the Anglo Irish treaty.

 This project will see these spaces brought fully into public use as a flexible 150 seat performance space, complete with the necessary acoustic treatment and sound-proofing.

It will also create a suite of beautifully restored rooms for education purposes – education being both an intrinsic part of the programme of the National Concert Hall and of course the history of the these buildings for over a century.

 Highly relevant to the group of supporters gathered here this evening is that the project also allows for the use of the rooms as conference and meeting spaces, served by their own winter garden cafe, with access opened up from the main foyer and, for the first time in the Hall, lift access to the upper floors.

 That these rooms will in future be the source of harmony rather than discord is symbolic both of the maturing of the Irish State over the last 100 years and also of the healing power of music.

 But this project for 2016 is just the start of what the National Concert Hall hopes to develop here on Earlsfort Terrace and what we, in Government, would like to see it achieve on behalf of the Irish people.

 The jewel in the crown of the development plan is to convert the original small concert hall back to that purpose as a 500 seat venue to complement the existing 1200 seat main auditorium and so restore to the venue the original 1865 scheme of having two auditoria. At present, there is no provision in Dublin for a venue of this size and its advent would bring about a similar transformation of the capital’s musical life as did the opening of the Hall itself in 1981, providing an acoustically ideal venue not just for chamber music and recitals but a whole range of musical styles where greater intimacy is an advantage, from traditional music to vocal music to jazz.

 The plan also envisages additional public areas, restaurant bar provision, more backstage and dressing room space, a rehearsal space for the RTÉ NSO as resident orchestra and various smaller education, rehearsal and performance facilities. In short, it would see much of the existing buildings brought back to life and purpose.

Collectively, we also have to face up to the necessity in the not too distant future of a major refurbishment of the main auditorium as it reaches 35 years of extremely busy operation: seating, air conditioning, stage, lighting all need replacement or upgrading.

Of course, we all know that delivering on this potential is not a simple matter and that it requires considerable financial resources. I am proud that, as we emerge from financial crisis, this Government has been able to get the process underway and I would urge you, as patrons and supporters, to play your part also.

 The true value of the arts to society is, naturally, immeasurable – one cannot put a price on its personal, psychological, educational, human developmental and societal benefits.  But we can attempt to obtain some measurement of the National Concert Hall’s economic benefit and value.

 Even at its most basic level, the annual investment through grant in aid here of €2.3 million sustains a business that generates more than double that from its own activities, sells €6 million in tickets and has an overall economic impact that has been calculated at €38million. Support for the arts is therefore a good investment.

 But the State cannot be the only investor: there are simply too many demands on the public purse. Arguably too, in a healthy society, investment in the public good, in the broadest sense, and the nourishing of our cultural environment should be the concern of business and commerce also and of the individual citizen.  It is not just Ireland’s corporate tax policy that brings inward investment but the quality of life which Dublin and Ireland have to offer, its cultural facilities, its music. And who benefits from the economic activity of the National Concert Hall?  Would we all not be much the poorer without it and would we not therefore be all the richer – in literal as well as metaphoric senses – for its further development?

 As we emerge from recession and review our recent past, there will be many things, I hope, that we will have learned to do differently. Some of the choices we face will be  difficult and many will involve new thinking and new ways of doing things. One of these will be how to sustain our culture and heritage and, more specifically, our cultural institutions.  These are issues which I know are of great concern to my colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys T.D. Around the world, there are varying financial models we can look at and from which we can learn. However, the National Concert Hall will of course remain just that – a national asset – and Minister Humphreys is currently overseeing legislation to put the Hall on a statutory footing, so underlining its importance as a natural cultural institution.

 But there is also no doubt that the private sector has a vital role to play, both in terms of the development of a greater philanthropic culture and corporate social responsibility. Just as there are those who look to European models of heavily State supported cultural institutions – supported, that is, by the taxpayer- there are those who would point to the American model of philanthropy, supported by a very different tax system.

 Ideally, we can – and should – do both. It should be part of the obligation of the State, supported by the aspiration of the tax paying citizenry, that our cultural heritage and contemporary artistic life is nurtured, supported and invested in. Equally, we should encourage and facilitate a co-investment by others.

 We have already heard from the CEO about the extraordinary range of work carried out by the National Concert Hall, both in its formal concert programme and in its education and outreach activity. I am sufficiently inspired by this, encouraged by your generosity as existing patrons and donors and enthused by the potential of this building to believe that, over time, we can forge a ground-breaking partnership between the public and private sector, the State and the individual supporter, to deliver on the full potential that exists here.

 As the Hall celebrates 150 years of Earlsfort Terrace as a centre of excellence for the arts and education it is worth remembering that the land on which it was built was itself a philanthropic donation  by Lord Iveagh.  As we move towards the centenary of the foundation of the State in 1922, the Government will seek to do what it can, within the resources at its disposal, to maintain the momentum we have started with the 2016 project.

 I would therefore like to invite you – as patrons, sponsors and corporate partners – not just to continue with your invaluable support for the National Concert Hall, but also to act as ambassadors and advocates for it, inviting your colleagues and peers to join you in supporting Ireland’s home of music and helping us to secure its future for generations to come.

Thank you.

 Ends//