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

I apologise as I missed the first part of the presentation but I have a few questions about the bits and pieces I have heard today. I have heard Cruinniú na nÓg advertised quite a lot nationally and it is wonderful to see. Are the witnesses confident the professional artists taking part will receive a professional fee for their expertise? I heard a figure of approximately 700 projects and that is really important. Will the witnesses speak about the Irish involvement in the Venice Biennale? Is there any collaborative or conversational relationship with the North of Ireland show in Venice as well? Is the work in silos or is there any sort of collaboration?

We spoke a little about film festivals and there is some nice literature. To get parochial, what is the departmental involvement with the Clones film festival? The Market House in Castleblayney has been very much in the headlines. It is a building of huge significance, both in historic, cultural and heritage terms. It was used as a signature piece for the architectural Biennale in Venice as well but it is really falling apart. I have had meetings with the Department about this and I know Monaghan County Council owns the building. What is the involvement of the Department to ensure that building is safe and can be conserved, with a plan for its future put in place? Senator Warfield spoke about artists' spaces and there are not that many of them in Monaghan or Cavan. We have the Tyrone Guthrie Centre but we could do with much more space and this would be an ideal venue for something like that.