Ms Sheila Pratschke:

I am afraid I am not aware of what the Senator is talking about. I have only recently come back to the country and I have barely got my knees under the table so I would have to inform myself better on that. I appreciate the Senator's point about the expense of organising a festival or an event and bringing people from abroad and so on. It is really important that artists, writers and those invited to participate are properly paid and looked after. Getting sponsorship and money is difficult for all of us. It is a very hard time for people who are organising events, no matter where in Ireland