Ms Ciara O'Connell:

We employ two people full time, so that is all I can say about the subject of employment. We do a summer-long festival called Summer in the City, which Waterford City and County Council provides the funding for, where we employ up to 80 people every weekend. It is an arts and music festival that we have tried to grow slowly over the years. Sometimes, things can start but be gone within a year if they are not successful. We need to consider a more sustainable approach to the arts and culture that gives them the opportunity to grow and thrive.

Our council has been wonderful to us. We rent our property privately at €15,000 per year and get €10,000 in funding from the council, but that is the only funding that Central Arts gets. We have not been able to access any funding from the Arts Council despite trying numerous times. There is a commonly held belief that Arts Council funding does not trickle down past the capital and, if it does, it is to much more established venues. For young venues like ours, which has only been going for six years, it is like hitting a brick wall. We might be told to prove ourselves, but even if one proves oneself time and again, it is difficult to get national funding.

Our local arts officers and arts officers nationally have been meeting over the issue of insurance. Festivals are finding it more difficult to get insurance. The festival culture is starting to die off. It is in a tenuous position. We are at risk of losing some of our smaller cultural hubs and offerings. If we do not protect them, they will be gone.