Professor Kevin Rafter:

I have not sat down to chair a board meeting yet. I am chair designate and I wanted to do the committee the courtesy of this being my first public outing. There will be a number of board meetings later this month, which will be an opportunity for me to get my feet under the table and get a sense of things, but I will not give the committee a long list and say that I will do this, that and the other. Rather, mine will be a watch, listen and see approach. I have had the benefit of being on the board of the Galway International Arts Festival and of chairing Creative Ireland, which has given me a good sense of the sector and the various issues.

The Senator asked about the focus. Culture Ireland held a conference in January attended by individuals from all of the sectoral interests involved. I will tell the committee about something I have picked up, namely, that this is about the role of the artist, ensuring a fair and equitable working wage for artists - from the performing artist to the creative artist - and supporting them through their careers. To merge a number of the Senator's questions, doing something in that regard in order that people can have time and space will be one of the issues. I have had the benefit of reading some of the transcripts of the committee's meetings. Ms Garry Hynes appeared before it this year while it was preparing its report on arts matters. She talked about allowing art to be made. The focus will be in that space.

Regarding public access, it is important that publicly funded art be available to all throughout the country. The Arts Council is a national institution with significant regional reach. It is involved in funding the education sector, including schools, as well as arts centres and various festivals.

On the magic wand question, I will not surprise the committee with my answer - it will be the funding model. Like all public bodies, the Arts Council suffered significantly post 2008. That year, its funding was €85 million, but it decreased to €56 million. There was a generous increase in the last budget, though, and funding is back at €75 million. Working with my colleagues on the council, its staff and the director, one of my objectives as chair will be to show that this is money well spent. Ms Hynes referred to the "act of imagining" and being challenged and inspired. That does not come without investment. If I had a magic wand, I would use it on the budget and ensure that, over the five-year period that I hope to be chair of the Arts Council, the budget increased significantly above its current level. That would allow us to do everything else the Senator mentioned - recognising the role of the artist and the artist's career; putting art throughout the country; and supporting art centres.

Regarding the STEAM and STEM debate, the humanities are very important in terms of the ability to think, inspire and communicate. We must not lose sight of their value. It was the late Mícheál Ó Súilleabhaín who said there was no metric for the priceless. Sometimes, we need to recognise the huge value that the arts provide to Irish society. That does not come without investment.