Ms Tania Banotti:

I do not wish to pre-empt the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin's, announcement but the Deputy asked about the scale of this initiative to the end of the year. I would say it is modest at about half a million euro. It is no secret that the idea of creativity and culture in nursing home settings has been the Cinderella of the whole piece. It is something that we really believe needs looking at. If there is going to be a reset, now is the time to think about that. I would also say that to do things properly takes time. We need to work with the staff in the care home. It needs to be ready to receive the artist. It takes time and we want that artist to have time and repeated visits. If we are going to do something, we are going to do it right. There is no question that it will spill over into 2021 and beyond. It is absolutely critical. We can do better and want to do better in that area.

On young people and particularly areas of deprivation where arts, culture and creativity may be seen as something, as it were, not for us, that is at the heart of the Creative Communities programme. It is at the heart of Louth County Council consulting those groups on what young people say they want to do and want for themselves. That is at the heart of the message of the Creative Ireland programme. It is about putting creativity and culture at the centre of people's lives.