Professor Frances Ruane:

We all know in our hearts that three-year funding is always better than one-year funding, for planning purposes, for booking people and for developing a programme. We are delighted that the Arts Council is moving back to three-year funding. We were not ready a couple of years ago but we are hoping to complete the two-year arrangement in the next number of weeks. We would very much value getting back to a three-year arrangement because the sector needs certainty.