Ms Shirley Clerkin:

He said that the uncomfortable stuff needs to be mentioned. I agree with the Senator. The vile with the valiant is always part of our heritage. People often do not want to remember the vile but it is very important to retain aspects of that for our own stability. If we start to erode the bits we are uncomfortable with, a false identity based on something else can be created. For example, many workhouses in Ireland have been retained and used, while not losing their history. For example, the children's dormitory in the Carrickmacross workhouse in Monaghan is still active in the top floor. The entire community uses the ground floors of the building, including a crèche. We very much need to do that. Those are issues we explore at a local level through talks we give and also through the various programmes we run in our particular counties - Donegal, Monaghan and Louth. In counties close to Northern Ireland we would do a lot of work looking at those difficult issues. We explore those issues through heritage and local heritage sites. It is a democratising way to look at issues, rather than focusing on politics.

On Creative Ireland and whether we are sure that heritage is not being left behind, I would not say we are sure that heritage is not being left behind. We are trying to do our best on the cultural teams to make sure that does not happen. I believe the chief executive of the programme, Ms Banotti, is keen to try to make sure that heritage comes to the fore and that we can use art as a new way to explore heritage. For example, there was a fantastic pollinator initiative in Laois and Offaly. It was done as part of the all-island pollinator plan, which comes through the national biodiversity data centre. We have an award through Tidy Towns to support that.

Creative Ireland supported a new composing element. Ian Wilson, from Belfast, made an entire piece where he interviewed local communities on pollinators and what they were doing with bees and insects. He created an entire saxophonist piece for it that was then performed in Emo Court. It was amazing. That is the type of measure we would like to see happen through Creative Ireland. It should be used to explore our natural and cultural heritage in a new way to allow us to meet new audiences.

I would be keen to ensure that the heritage spend keeps up to par with the new programmes that are coming into place, that we do not forget the asset on which all these areas are dependent, and to make sure to fund that appropriately.