Ms Jo Mangan:

I am the chair of the National Campaign for the Arts, NCFA. I am a theatre director and the director of Carlow Arts Festival. I am joined by my colleague Mr. Eugene Downes, director of the Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ms Angela Dorgan, CEO of First Music Contact, and Ms Olwen Dawe, consultant and policy analyst. We represent the National Campaign for the Arts on the discussion about national cultural policy.

We very much welcome the all-party approach to arts and culture and we feel there is now a huge opportunity to build a true republic of culture for all. Ms Dorgan will speak to the committee about what the NCFA is and our areas of concern. Mr. Downes will speak about our response to Culture 2025 - Éire Ildánach: a Framework Policy to 2025. It is absolutely crucial that the final published strategy have teeth and be backed up by long-term investment commitments. I hope all committee members have received our pre-budget submission in which we outline current urgent considerations for the sector.