Ms Olga Barry:

I will address the staffing and some of the synergies, and then Mr. Downes will come in. The Kilkenny Arts Festival currently has three full-time staff members and one part-time staff member. We increase this by another five on a seasonal basis, which is more than one month but less than two months. Depending on the programming in any given year we also have another 20 to 25 staff that are with us for one month or less. Crucially, supporting all of this is - literally - an army of some 350 volunteers. For the first time two years ago a grandchild of an original volunteer from the first festival in 1974 started in our junior volunteer programme. This is an extraordinary commitment. It is easy to talk in soft-focus terms about volunteerism and about them being the backbone of the festival but in Kilkenny's case, the festival would crash and burn without them. They are incredibly knowledgeable, they are conformable talking to artists and engaging in participatory projects and they speak to the heart and soul of the festival and what it means. When one drops people into a city the size of Kilkenny the idea of festivalisation - as referred to by Mr. Fahy - is ripe for nurturing in this State. Because of the size of the towns and cities regionally in which we operate one can festivalise the energy of the city for this length of time. It can be about the arts, creativity, the public space and civic engagement.

Synergy is not just within the festival itself. It is important for our public representatives to see that there are synergies between production companies, Dublin-based companies and Irish artists who work internationally. Most of the work of Cartoon Saloon, for example, is now seen abroad. Synergy is about practitioners, venues, composers, writers, poets and arts managers. A country the size of Ireland has to have those synergies. I believe that most people would agree there is incredible synergy within the arts sector itself. It is because we need one another and depend on one another. You can pick up the phone to Paul Fahy or to Cian O'Brien and they would dig you out if you needed. This approach is very front and centre in the arts community in Ireland and is to be celebrated.