Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for joining us and for the extraordinary work they have done in the past in nurturing the development of arts in Ireland, particularly the work they are doing now to support the community, which, as Mr. Rafter has pointed out, has found itself in probably the most challenging place ever in terms of being able to survive and thrive and, hopefully, come out the other end intact and ready to enthrall us with their work again.

I echo the words of Deputy O'Sullivan on the experience of local artists. I am fortunate in that I own a small theatre in east Galway and I am the co-founder of our local Carrabane Arts Festival, where, with Arts Council support and the support of others, we are able to allow people in a small community to experience what I argue is some of the best art in terms of theatre and music that Ireland has to offer. There is something special happening in rural communities throughout the country now in engendering artistic endeavour at local level and showcasing the best of what we have to offer as a country to local people. I refer to what is happening in Clifden and the Shorelines Arts Festival in Portumna and there are many other examples.

My sense is that if we were to focus on nurturing this over the coming five to ten years, we could create an ecosystem of artistic endeavour at local level that we have not seen in this country previously. I want to get the opinions of the witnesses on how exactly we can do this. I would argue it is through our network of local authority arts officers. They are charged with nurturing and developing artistic endeavour at local authority level and I hear they are constantly strapped for resources in Galway and throughout the country. Should this be considered to rebalance investment in our arts?

With regard to what is happening now and the supports the Arts Council is offering to the artistic community, I echo Deputy O'Sullivan. I hear that the application process is especially convoluted and particularly challenging for people whose expertise is in producing wonderful art and not in legalese or accounting practice. Perhaps one example I suggest we might look to is that of the sports capital grant. The Department has succeeded over the past four to five years of simplifying the application process for sports capital grants throughout the country. It is all done online. It is much more straightforward now than it was when it began. There is a lot to be learned from that process and this experience. Well done to the Arts Council on doing something really valuable and special.