Ms Jo Mangan:

-----vaguely aspirational. I have shown it to people in the United Kingdom who have worked on cultural policy in the past. Ms Olwen Dawe obviously is well versed on that side of things and what is missing from it and from the previous drafts that have existed are teeth. There is no commitment, and as other colleagues have mentioned, nothing is ring-fenced regarding the right of the artist. It lacks teeth and has no commitments within it. I understand it is difficult to write a policy and then have the commitments within it.

In response to Senator Warfield, I do not know if it is my place to say it but if we are talking about an all-party policy document that will stand us in good stead for ten years, I am not sure whether the way to go is with a parallel track that is in existence to interrogate it and to try to get down into an alternative universe that it could be. It feels as though it should be happening within the Department and should be happening with the clear input of the Oireachtas committee and the people who advise the committee externally. That is my opinion in this regard.