Mr. Brian Rowntree:

We again thank Senator Fintan Warfield. We are very appreciative of his comments. I reassure him that McAuley Place is very welcoming for everyone and will continue to be so. We hope to build on this.

We would love to see more benchmarking data across the platform. We would like to see data available in order that we could compare ourselves not just in Ireland but also in other regions and see how we bring it to the table. I also believe we have to measure not just success but also look at restrictions. We have to look at the impacters that impact on success. That would inform policy development which would then inform the strategies which would, in turn, inform the bidding process and the outcome and measurement provisions. The critical aspect is how we look at the arts in their collective and plural fashion and across many platforms.

We do have an issue where in many deprived communities education is one thing that impacts on continuing deprivation. So many people who are educated leave those communities. We have to continue to develop role models within them in order that we can sustain lifelong learning in them. There is no point in having a goal of creating an educational intervention if it is not retained and sustained within communities. The arts are part of that framework of success which is critical to the success of the regeneration and continued development of communities.