Ms Sheila Pratschke:

I am privileged to be here and I thank the committee for giving me the opportunity to speak about myself and the Arts Council, which I hope to serve as chair.

The committee will have received my written statement. My background in the arts spans all the art forms and I have worked both in Dublin and in County Monaghan. In the past seven years I have been responsible for the Irish cultural centre in the Irish College in Paris. I believe I have a background and experience that is not tied to any particular sector in the arts. I can pay attention to all of the art forms with a very objective and even hand. I will also bring some of the experience in Europe to bear and an international aspect to how the Arts Council develops over the next five years.