Arts funding needs to be put on better footing if Londonderry is to flourish

Imposed cuts across the board have resulted in the Arts Council planning for a budget cut of approximately 1.1 million in 2010-11.

"Their parent department, DCAL, is itself set to lose 25.9 million - making it in proportional terms the second hardest hit of the Northern Ireland government departments," said Mr Durkan.

"I am very concerned that these financial cuts will cause irreparable damage to the arts sector in Derry and throughout the North, and consequently to the region's prosperity as a whole.

"Local arts groups – including at the Eden Place Arts Centre – are being told that the Arts Council has to carefully prioritise its funds and have a difficult task of spreading an already overstretched budget even thinner," he added.

"I am fully aware that the Arts Council has invested heavily in developing Derry's arts facilities and continues to do so. However, given that the arts infrastructure here is extremely fragile as a direct result of decades of chronic under-funding, it is essential that - at Executive level - more money is made available for this sector," continued Mr Durkan.

The local MP, MLA has signed a motion at Westminster urging the government to maintain essential funding for the arts.

"Funding for arts groups in Derry and throughout the North needs to be put on a sounder footing if they are to continue with their good work and flourish in the future.

"At a time when the Irish government is quite rightly highlighting the importance of culture and arts to economic growth, the NI Executive should see it as more than a short cameo in our recovery," he concluded.