The Association of Artists Representative Organisation (AARO), of which the MUI is a founding and active member, has challenged the Arts Council to make publicly available funds to assist artists facing financial difficulties during the current economic crisis. This move comes following the recent news story of an actor who received 100 hours community service having pleaded guilty to stealing €58 worth of food to feed his family.
In a written response, Orlaith McBride, Director of the Arts Council commits the Arts Council to …’continue to support as many individual artists as we can in our funding schemes and awards and will continue to work with representative organisations…to represent the situation of the individual artists at Government level’.