THE IDEA TO give a €100 voucher to all 16-year-olds to spend on arts, cultural and music venues next year has been slapped down by Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers. 

The voucher, which could be a downloadable card, would allow young people to use it for entry to cinemas, theatres and music venues. 

It is understood there was a heated budget discussion between Minister for Arts, Media and Culture Patrick O’Donovan and Chambers, with some reports that O’Donovan walked out of the meeting. 

Some sources said they wouldn’t describe it as a walkout but that the arts minister was told his budget allocation request was “too high” and therefore there was no real basis for any further discussion on the voucher matter. 

It is understood O’Donovan was asked to resubmit his idea with a reduced price tag.

However, other sources have indicated that the proposed measure might not happen at all now, though the minister is pushing for the voucher to be introduced in some form. 

Introducing the €100 voucher could cost between €7 and €8 million.

With budget day taking place on Tuesday, budget negotiations will come down to the wire over the weekend. 

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Ministers will be vying to get as many of their asks for Budget 2027 over the line, however, Chambers has been dampening expectations for some time now, telling ministers to find savings within their departments. 

It is understood that some meetings have been described by ministers as difficult, with criticisms made of the Department of Public Expenditure (DPER) for not reining in the Department of Education’s substantial overspend of nearly one billion euro. 

Sources say that as DPER didn’t rein that in, everyone has to pay for their mistakes, with a levy being placed on all departments which is seriously undermining their budget asks. 

Poll: Do you think 16-year-olds should get a culture voucher to spend on arts, cultural and music venues?