Ms Lorraine Comer:

The Points of Alignment was an important piece of work that was initiated by the Arts Council. It was the two Ministers at that time who wanted to set up the joint committee. The committee produced some really interesting recommendations, taking into account the good practice within the fields of arts and education. It also undertook a look-back of the 1979 Benson report and called for a joined-up thinking approach at Government level. There was disappointment that the recommendations within Points of Alignment were not realised. Out of that process grew ETAI. We were a grassroots organisation that wanted to make sure that we would continue to advocate for the recommendations within Points of Alignment and also for a greater alignment of policies, which was the purpose of Points of Alignment as well. We want to see alignment of policies across arts and education in particular.

The crash and the recession occurred at that time in 2008 and so there were not resources available to fund the recommendations within Points of Alignment. At that time, creative engagement and other initiatives continued. They created the fertile ground for initiatives like Creative Ireland. There was a lot of really good work still happening on the ground. The Arts and Education Charter launched in 2013 took account of all of that work. Also, for the first time we had two Ministers from education and the arts coming together to develop policy.