Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms McBride for her excellent opening statement. While I acknowledge that part of being a member of the committee is to be educated and informed, one could have read her statement in a pamphlet. As for decision-making, accounts, plenary councils and peer panels and application processes, I am aware the Arts Council does things absolutely correctly but I would have liked more funding examples. The Arts Council does extraordinary work in disadvantaged areas and is cognisant of geographical spread. She might give us an example of that. I would particularly like to hear about something the Arts Council took on from its inception that went on to achieve great success due to the council's intuition, processes, etc. I felt we lost out on an example even though I acknowledge Ms McBride was outlining the governance background.

How much time must the Arts Council spend on grant applications and decisions and how much does that eat into what the council would prefer to be doing by way of developing ideas? How could we best facilitate that? Ms McBride stated such matters should not be separate, that there should not be an organisation sitting in an annexe doing all that but that the work should be integrated. How much does that eat into the Arts Council being a purveyor of great ideas and voicing them, instead of being the place to apply to or where someone's application was turned down? Could Ms McBride talk about that balance and whether she needs more staff for that balance?

Has there been a recent survey of what agencies, artists or artistic organisations think of the Arts Council and what it has learnt from that? I am not talking about hearsay at bus stops. How long do all the checks and assessments take?

I thank Mr. Ó Coigligh for his contribution. There is a new Minister. I wish her and the Department the best of luck in her new portfolio.

Can Ms Copeland outline her role in Creative Ireland? What does it intend to do? Where will the €6 million be spent? Where stands the arm's-length approach of the Department? It it getting into the territory of giving out money to artists and agencies and deciding on cultural programmes around the country? I felt Creative Ireland was happening anyway and it was not the Department that purveyed it. The St. Patrick's Day parades, for example, show what is happening artistically in every area of Ireland up to Carndonagh and further. Where does encroachment begin and Creative Ireland end, for example, in giving money to cultural organisations? Is it the new Arts Council? Is it an annexe to the Arts Council, which will make decisions? How will it make these decisions? I know the Department makes decisions on the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Crawford Art Gallery, the National Concert Hall, our orchestras and so on, which is very important but where does that begin and end?