Actors struggle on just €7,200 a year
Wednesday October 03 2007
IRISH parents may think twice about putting their daughters or sons on the stage, after the actors' union revealed that the average pay is just €7,200 a year.
The president of Irish Equity, which is affiliated to SIPTU, has urged the Arts Council to set up a new system of multi-annual funding that would enable theatres to better manage their revenue and create more jobs.
Padraig Murray, a brother of former 'Brookside' actor Brian Murray, confirmed that the stereotype about struggling actors still held true.
The actor, who current works on RTE's 'The Den', said many people would be shocked to learn the salaries of several well-known faces.
Equity will today propose a motion at the SIPTU annual conference in Tralee, calling for a new system of funding whereby theatres would be informed about grants for years in advance.
"The outcome of the Arts Council survey on theatre actors' earnings comes as no surprise to us,'' said Mr Murray.
"Actors in theatre are still very badly paid and need to subsidise their work, with TV or film projects to survive."
Equity noted that despite increased funding for the Arts Council by the Government, its members employed as theatre practitioners continued to be badly paid.
