Sinn Féin Senator Chris Andrews has accused Minister for Culture Patrick O’Donovan of “repackaging and watering down” Sinn Féin’s Activity Card policy.
Over the weekend, the typical pre-Budget drip-feed revealed that Fine Gael are introducing a €100 culture voucher in the Budget, with 16-year-olds being able to avail of the card.
Senator Andrews said the proposal is lacking in ambition compared to his party’s one.
In August 2024, the party launched their proposal for an Activity Cardm which could have covered children between the ages of 4 and 16, the value would have been worth €130, and it would have covered sports activities as well as arts.
Senator Andrews explained at the time, “this proposal looks to ensure that all children have access to sports and cultural activities by easing the financial burden on parents to provide extracurriculars.”
“The Activity Card is based on a similar policy in Iceland, where their Recreation Card is credited with increasing youth participation and drastically reducing the number of teenagers engaged in anti-social activity, including alcohol, tobacco and drug use, which used to be among the highest in Europe,” he said.
Andrews said that the policy “acknowledges the real benefits of investing in sports and cultural participation from a young age in terms of community development, social cohesion and educational results, as well as in health and well-being.”
He then remarked, “two years since Sinn Féin launched this proposal, Minister Patrick O’Donovan has seemingly decided to make it his own.”
“Minister O’Donovan has floated a watered-down Culture Card that can be used for arts and music events. This proposed Card cannot be used for sports activities, and will only be made available to a small percentage of Ireland’s families,” he said.
“If Fine Gael wants to borrow Sinn Féin policies, it should at least borrow the ambition that came with them,” he joked.