Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim céad fáilte roimh na finnéithe. Tá brón orm nach raibh mé anseo ag tús na díospóireachta. I apologise for not being here at the beginning, but I have read the statements. When I was involved in theatre many years ago a very good friend of mine, who was a set designer and who went on to win an Irish Timesaward, was in the middle of building a set for one of our productions and had to go and sign on the dole. The lady in the dole office asked him how he was doing, and his answer to him was that he was flat out. She looked at him and raised her eyebrow, but she signed him off anyway and he got his dole for that week. That was back in the 80s, when we would have described the Arts Council as a FÁS scheme or the dole because many artists were dependent on that.

The budget announced the "artists' dole", as it has been called, as a pilot scheme. I would appreciate an update as to how that is working, how many people have applied for it, whether it is successful and whether it is going to be extended. Many artists say to me that they are living hand to mouth and are very much dependent on the jobseeker's allowance, but they have the indignity of having to apply for it every time they finish a commission, for example, and the uneven nature of their income really affects it.

Another issue that has been raised with me by many local artists is the Per Cent for Art scheme, where capital projects can spend moneys on art. We have seen some wonderful pieces of art and also seen some fairly unwonderful pieces of art under that scheme, but I know that it has been used in nursing homes and schools, etc. I get a sense that not all potential capital projects are availing of that opportunity and that it would be a fantastic source of income for many artists who are really struggling at the moment, particularly smaller artists, and that it would bring arts to rural areas. Who is pushing that scheme? Who is overseeing the scheme? Why are we not seeing more art happening under the scheme?

On the issue of governance, the role of Aosdána and its independence under the funding scheme available through the Arts Council arises. It is important to ensure that Aosdána is a relevant organisation. I understand there is a review ongoing. This may have been mentioned already, and I apologise if that is the case. Could the witnesses talk to us about the future of Aosdána and how it is looked upon?

Obviously, táim tiomanta do chúrsaí Gaeilge. Fáiltím roimh an airgead a cuireadh ar fáil d'Ealaín na Gaeltachta. Tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach. The funding for Ealaín na Gaeltachta is absolutely essential, but what is the Irish language policy as it relates to the arts, the Department and the Arts Council? We have a national theatre which has not produced an Irish language production in almost 20 years, which I think is absolutely disgraceful. I wonder, from a policy perspective and Government perspective, why national organisations are not encouraged to do more work through the medium of the Irish language.

There is a sense among the arts community that there are quite a few large clients of the Arts Council who get a huge chunk of funding on an annual basis. Some would say it is warranted, while others ask why these clients get the same amount every year and call it a closed shop.

A number of stakeholders seem to lionise the available funding which makes it very difficult for newcomers or new and creative artists to break into the existing funding models. What is being done from a governance perspective to ensure the bigger organisations will not get too comfortable with the funding they are receiving and that space will be given to new groups?