Maura Hopkins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to make a number of brief points about the connection between artists and the business world. I say that because a really interesting report was commissioned by the Western Development Commission in 2009. It emphasised that the creative sector was very much underdeveloped and that there was huge potential. On foot of that, I was recently involved with Roscommon Leader Partnership in trying to assist people in the creative sector to make a link with business supports. I want to get the witnesses' thoughts about that linkage. Obviously, income is a major factor for artists. Many of them are sole traders and it is very difficult to make ends meet. I want to understand what model we should be moving towards because it can be an isolated working environment in many ways and one does not have those connections to supports. We have set up a free working space for anybody interested in the creative sector, which will, hopefully, be successful in terms of trying to encourage artists and others involved in the sector to make that linkage with the business sector. I just want to get a number of thoughts on that.