Debate contribution: Arts Funding: Barnett Consequentials
Debate contribution by Mr Gordon Lyons on .
- MLA
- Mr Gordon Lyons
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 8 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Arts Funding: Barnett Consequentials
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5674132
Read the official Assembly record
Text
First and foremost, I hope that that will be done through the delivery of an arts policy that ticks all of the boxes that need to be ticked, so that we have continued sustainability, innovation and collaboration. I hope that that will be a significant legacy for the arts. A focus of mine during my time in office has been on ensuring that the arts do not become the preserve of one group of people or are maintained as such. I genuinely believe that the arts are for everyone in all communities from all backgrounds. That is important to me, because the arts do not sit on their own; they are integral to the other things that we are trying to achieve in society. I have seen first-hand how the arts are hugely beneficial when it comes to helping people with their healthcare and education in particular. The arts also have impacts elsewhere. For example, I have seen how they help to keep people out of the justice system and how they contribute to the social fabric of our lives. I say all of that while being deeply frustrated that we are in the financial position that we are in. I understand why those people are here and why they are annoyed and angry, but I will do what I can to make sure that it is on the agenda and that we have an arts policy that delivers what people want to see.
244 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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