Ms Anna Walsh:

Before Mr. McIntyre responds, I make the point that we are not suggesting that any of those responsibilities should be taken away. In fact, more responsibilities should be vested in local authorities because they comprise representatives living and working in those localities. It is very difficult for any arts centre or organisation, however, to navigate the system whereby that local authority funding to the arts centre or organisation is entirely arbitrary and rolled over annually. It is a discretionary spend rather than a mandatory one in terms of the annual budget and that means it is precarious. In the same way that artists' income is precarious, the allocation or award of local authority funding to an arts centre rolls on from year to year.