Arts funding in Republic

In a letter to the Irish Times (5 February), composer Conor Linehan wrote:

It has come to my attention that the Corn Exchange Theatre Company [in Dublin], for whom I have worked as a composer, has recently suffered a crippling 48 per cent cut in its Arts Council funding. ...  The overall cut to arts funding this year was six per cent.

This report relates to the situation in the Irish Republic but from this and other reports, it is clear that in the current worldwide economic climate there is pressure on arts budgets in most countries.