Ms Orlaith McBride:

I am joined by the chair of the Arts Council, Sheila Pratschke, and Martin O'Sullivan, finance director and company secretary of the Arts Council. We thank the committee for the opportunity to make a presentation this afternoon.

The last few weeks have not been easy for those who work in the arts. The actions of a number of women have drawn attention to sexism and bullying specifically in the theatre sector. The stories told in recent weeks have shocked us all. However, shock is transient and we must go beyond shock. We must use recent revelations as a catalyst for change. As the development agency for the arts in Ireland, the Arts Council takes the lead in supporting and embedding change across the sector. Following the recent revelations at the Gate Theatre and the statement issued by the seven theatre organisations on respect and dignity in the workplace, the Arts Council met with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. We discussed a joint approach to support the sector. We must ensure that arts organisations have processes and procedures in place to protect those working in the sector. Those processes and procedures must work for an individual whether he or she is a permanent employees or a freelance practitioner.

As part of the Arts Council's current terms and conditions of financial assistance, organisations in receipt of Arts Council funding must confirm they comply with all laws applicable to them and, in particular, that they fulfil their statutory obligations. This includes all obligations under employment law, statutes, regulations and Revenue Commissioners requirements. All employers are obliged under the provisions of Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2011 to prevent harassment, including sexual harassment, in the workplace. It is also recognised that bullying in the workplace can impact on the health, safety and welfare of staff and, under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, employers have a duty to prevent any improper conduct or behaviour which is likely to put the safety, health and welfare of employees at risk. This obliges senior management and line managers to ensure that reasonable steps are taken to ensure a work environment free of bullying, harassment or sexual harassment. This includes developing an anti-bullying policy and dealing with established complaints of bullying in the workplace. Employers are required to deal with complaints as a priority issue.

The Health and Safety Authority and the Labour Relations Commission have also produced codes of practice on dealing with bullying in the workplace. Two points should be made in this regard. The first is that the Arts Council is not a regulatory agency. The second is that, while procedures and obligations exist and have existed for more than a decade, the indications are that they were, in Hamlet's words, "more honoured in the breach than the observance". In other words, they existed and were in place, but they did not inform the day-to-day thinking and behaviour of everybody in management in the sector. I wish to make it clear that the Arts Council will not and should not talk about allegations. Everybody is entitled to due process. I am referring to admissions that establish a gaping lacuna between obligations and actions, a gaping lacuna between the law and statutory obligations laid down and the subjective interpretation of what was acceptable behaviour.

We must go further to help organisations to provide their employees with the protection to which they are entitled. I will outline the actions currently being undertaken by the Arts Council to support arts organisations. We are engaging a human resources, HR, expert to develop a series of resources and templates in areas such as harassment and bullying in the workplace to provide best practice responses to organisations across the sector. These will be made available to all organisations and will be supplemented with direct support via a series of workshops aimed at helping organisations to develop their policies and procedures in this regard.

Our legal advisers are reviewing our full terms and conditions for financial assistance to ensure that they are as robust as they can be, particularly as they relate to responsibilities under specific laws such as the Employment Equality Acts and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. Our strategic funding agreements with organisations will in future require organisations to confirm that they have policies in these areas as well as in the area of gender equality. This will be attached to the draw down of funding from the Arts Council.

The Arts Council's code of conduct for staff, our good faith reporting policy, our ethical behaviour policy, our harassment in the workplace policy, our disputes procedure and our whistleblowing policy have all been uploaded to our website under a new section on HR on the corporate governance page. We are also working with the Minister to facilitate discussions within the sector over the coming weeks. Together, we met the leaders from the theatre organisations last week, who recently co-signed the statement condemning sexual harassment and abuse of power in the theatre in Ireland. The purpose of that meeting was to discuss new ways in which the Department and the Arts Council can support the sector in creating a safe culture and environment for those working in the industry. The meeting, as the Minister outlined last week, provided a platform for discussion, debate and ideas, with other measures to be announced.

The Arts Council is committed in its strategy, Making Great Art Work, to improving the living and working conditions of artists. What we have heard over the past number of days is that organisations must be supported more to ensure that the right conditions are in place for all artists and those working in the arts sector. We will provide that support. We look forward to working together with the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the sector to understand better the supports that are needed to ensure best practice in the arts sector.