Ms Seóna Ní Bhriain:

In terms of what can be done, resourcing of the arts is really important. Resourcing all of these initiatives and ensuring that there are proper structures in place to implement them is really important. Ms Comer mentioned the Points of Alignment report and the disappointment in the years that followed. Two key issues hampered the report's implementation. Resourcing was one of them. Structures, that is, mechanisms in which to collaborate, was the other. We do work together but it is difficult because we are all in different places with different agendas. The Arts Council policy mentions implementation of the Arts in Education charter within it. That allows us to engage collaboratively with other agencies and departments, but it is difficult to do.

I would love to see by the end of 2022, when Creative Ireland has gone through its period, that we have developed structures that work and are sustainable. One of the recommendations, which I mentioned in our overview paper that we circulated to the committee in advance, was that there would be a development unit for the arts in education. That was one of the recommendations of Points of Alignment. Most of the other recommendations would have been housed within that one. For example, the development of a portal site was first mentioned in Points of Alignment. At the moment Creative Ireland has begun that space, which is why it is a really positive place to be in now, and we are beginning to have proper discussion and collaboration at quite a high level.

There has always been collaboration and work on the ground. When we look back to the Points of Alignment report and earlier, there has always been a recognition of how amazing stuff happens anyway despite a lack of proper planning or provision. We somehow manage to get it all together but we would be doing ourselves a disservice not to say that it is not really sustainable in this way and that we need to have proper resourcing and structures to work together. It takes time to make these things actually align. Part of it is the structures and part of it is all of us being willing to engage and respect where everyone is coming from and the fact that we do have some common goals.