The Northern Ireland Assembly committee for culture, arts and leisure has called for a cross-departmental approach to funding for the arts “given their impact in terms of education, employment, tourism, the economy, health and regenerating communities”.
The recommendation was included in a recent committee report on the funding of the arts, which stated that they are vital to Northern Ireland’s economy.
Chris Bailey, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Museums Council, said: “This report, along with the first enquiry on developing a museums policy [January 2009], has the capacity to embed the arts and museums sectors within mainstream government agendas.”