Ms Tania Banotti:

It is at the request of the partnership we have with the local authorities. They believe that much of the work that is being done at their level would not be recognised or as valued, perhaps, as some of the work that happens at national level and that is funded by the Arts Council. If one looks at the eight videos we have done this year on our YouTube channel, the bulk of those are people under the creative communities. They are artists or young people. They are persons who have benefited under pillar 2, which is creative communities. For example, we did one to celebrate Culture Night where a poet, Mr. Stephen James Smith, who had worked with one of our local authorities, wrote and performed a poem for Culture Night.

Most of the videos are at the request of partners such as the Heritage Council. The Heritage Council has a super heritage in schools programme, but it would not traditionally have had the funds to shoot a film to promote it. Under the Minister, Deputy Madigan, an additional 650 schools will get the heritage in schools programme next year and they need to promote that. With Creative Ireland, we were able to step in and help the Heritage Council by making a short film on what the heritage in schools programme looks like and why more schools should avail of it. That is a legitimate use of the programme.