Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis an Roinn mar gheall ar an obair atá idir láimh aige. There is so much wonderful activity happening in the arts sector and we do not spend enough time focusing on all of that. Much of that work happens as a result of the funding and the development that is facilitated by these organisations.

One of the reasons we looked to have this discussion is because the arts sector has been rocked in recent months by allegations of bullying and harassment. It would be useful for the members to be able to see what we can do to strengthen the protections that exist for workers in this area. My questions relate to that. One of the protections that could be used is the withdrawal of funds. In other words, if an organisation was not fulfilling its responsibilities according to employment law and it was adjudicated not to be doing so by an independent organisation, such as the Workplace Relations Commission, perhaps the Arts Council could withdraw funds from that organisation. Does the Arts Council have the power to do that and has it ever done it?