Closing of Light House Cinema a "Damaging Precedent for culture in Ireland"

Posted on April 15, 2011 at 04:31 PM

Labour MEP Nessa Childers has today described the closure of the Light House Cinema in Smithfield as a 'dangerous precedent for culture and the Arts in Ireland'.  Ms Childers sits on the European Parliament's Culture and Education Committee, and is currently involved in drafting a report for the European Parliament on the digitisation of cinema in Europe.  She said "Several months ago I began researching the current state of cinema in Ireland, as part of my work for the European Parliament. I was dismayed to discover that, having initially fared well during the economic crisis, cinema is now in a sorry state. Unfortunately cultural or art-house cinemas will be the first to go, as we have seen with the Light-House."

"If action isn't taken on behalf on the Arts Council and the Government, the only cinemas that exist in Ireland will be those housing big budget American blockbusters. This would represent an enormous cultural deficit for Ireland. This could in turn have a serious economic impact, and arguably already is. Recently released European figures have shown that cultural goods now make up just 0.2% of Irish exports, compared with 1.8% of British exports."

Ms Childers concluded "The Arts provide important support and hope to Irish people during tough economic times such as these, yet are almost always the first to be slashed in austerity budgets. I strongly encourage Minister Jimmy Deenihan to consider stronger support for services such as the Light-House cinema, which is going out of business for as little as €177,000."

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