Mr. Pádraig Naughton:

To answer that question and picking up from where Dr. Byrne finished, for the first time this year Arts and Disability Ireland worked with Bealtaine. One of the reasons we were interested in doing so was that the majority of people with a disability acquired it. That is particularly true of older people. We have found anecdotally - this is something we started to test and explore with Bealtaine - that the way to encourage people who acquire disabilities, older people in particular who need audio description and captioning, or the loop system, is to get them to say they need these systems or to make use of them. That is part of the reason behind the work we are doing with Bealtaine.

To answer the question on the drop in the use of audio description and captioning as it relates to the theatre from 2014 through to 2017, there are a number of reasons for it. One is that the model we were using with the Arts Council to deliver audio description and captioning nationally was its touring and dissemination at work scheme. It was funding theatre, performance and visual arts companies to tour nationally. The number of tours has got smaller in recent years. They are visiting fewer venues and the tours are shorter. That has meant fewer opportunities to provide audio description and captioning. When we started to provide audio description and captioning on national tours, the first production, pre the touring and dissemination at work scheme, was Fishamble's "The Pride of Parnell Street" in 2011 when we visited eight venues. It is now untypical for a tour to be that long or for us to get the opportunity to work on a tour that long. We are in discussions with the Arts Council to change the model, whereby we would work with specific venues. That was one of the reasons I mentioned the report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities. There are still recommendations that could, if properly activated, make a big difference. If we were to move to a venue-based approach, we could take a longer term view and support a number of shows each year at specific venues throughout the country to develop them as hubs and an audience for access.

The issue of resources is a concern which I have heard the operators of venues discuss regularly. I am heading to Belfast to attend the Theatre Forum conference. Those who are members of Theatre Forum have spoken about this issue extensively. They are feeling squeezed. The Arts Council, local authorities and others want to support the arts groups that come into venues, but they do not necessarily want to support their running costs. The truth is that in the short to medium term access will cost them a good deal of money, more than what they have. There will, therefore, be a need for more investment.