Deputy Michael Kitt:

I thank the delegation for attending the meeting. I apologise for missing the start of the presentations but I was unintentionally held up in the Dáil.

There is a big issue as to what comprises the Irish music industry. Local radio and Comhaltas would promote Irish traditional music. Local radio is interested in request programmes which national stations tend not to be. Years ago, RTE had a programme called “Hospitals Requests” but now I suppose there are more televisions in hospital wards. Midwest Radio has very well-known presenters like John Duggan or Michael Commins. They play many requests and they would be very much in the Irish vein. Kevin Rohan on Galway Bay FM has a Monday night Irish traditional programme too.

We recently had a successful county fleadh cheoil in my village of Castleblakeney. A fleadh cheoil will be well received in a small town or village.

It was our second time to host the county fleadh cheoil. We hosted it in 2004 and it was quite successful. Some funding was provided for hosting it in 2004 but no funding has yet been provided by the local authority for funding the hosting of it this year. The guests might comment on that. It would stretch Comhaltas's resources if there is no local funding input from arts committees or local authority committees. Comhaltas would have to raise the money and would depend on voluntary efforts to secure the funding required. It is more difficult to organise a fleadh cheoil in the current economic climate if no funding is available from a local authority, vocational education body or other body? I would like to hear the guests' views on that.