Professor Kevin Rafter:

The Arts Council is significantly involved in the education sector. I referred earlier to the value of partnership. The partnership with the Department of Education and Skills has developed over the past number of years. There are 300 schools involved in the Creative Schools initiative. That is a project in which the Arts Council will continue to be involved. The Arts Council cannot work alone. It works through the local authorities and with the line Department. It is very important that we are not operating in silos, so those partnerships are vital to deliver the ultimate objective for the arts community and for the public in terms of their access.