Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentation. I come from a very rural peninsula and a rural constituency and I worry about how accessible funding like this is to rural communities. We saw last week that with €60,000, Sherkin Island can deliver a massive arts programme. Some communities can deliver quite a lot, even with very little. It is important that the Creative Ireland arts grants scheme is accessible to communities. Many communities, unfortunately, fall between two stools. They are off the radar of the local authority but they might be active on the ground. They might need a bit of help in filling in applications and might not be aware of what is available. They may not be at the top level and ticking all the boxes for local authorities. The education and training boards do not cover every area in rural Ireland. Accessibility for island people is important. I am thinking of the islands in my constituency in west Cork. I would like to see how they are able to access the scheme. Will Ms Banotti elaborate on that?