Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Can I tease that out a little? Some of the analysis from Theatre Forum suggests that the arts world has become more competitive and that there are a lot more artists in the country now. Courses at third level institutions such as the NCAD and colleges in Dún Laoghaire, Limerick and Cork mean that significant numbers of students qualify every year, some of whom go on to study at postgraduate level and so on. Let us imagine that funding for the arts is doubled. How do we ensure that artists have more security? What practical measures do the witnesses have in mind? I accept that there must be greater investment in the arts. Let us say that happens and funding to the Arts Council increases. How do we ensure that the increased funding reaches the artists? How do we provide them with security?