Mr. Conor James:

I am 11 years old. I live in Dublin, having returned from Toronto in 2016. I have been on The Ark’s children’s council since 2019. I thank the committee for asking me to speak here today.

The pandemic was a challenge for everyone. My mum and dad are doctors, and my mum still works with Covid-19 patients. We all know the pandemic was hard for health workers, but it was hard for their families too. The hospitals were very busy, overcrowded and stressful. I could not hug my parents when they came home from work. Luckily, they both got their vaccine four months ago. Since then, I have been looking forward to getting back to normal life.

Although there are many negatives about Covid-19, there are also some positives, especially about how communities changed. There was a big effort to keep people outdoors, which I really enjoyed, and there was a big effort to help keep small businesses running, which helped the lives of many people and small communities, like where my grandparents live in Westmeath. People really supported each other during the pandemic. For example, because our childminder had to leave due to Covid-19 and because school was cancelled, it was hard for my parents who still had to go to work every day. Other parents in our community and my aunt offered to help. I hope this community support continues long after the pandemic.

My favourite sport is basketball. During the pandemic, our training was cancelled because basketball is an indoor sport. We do not have a big garden, so I could not practice my drills. Four basketball courts near me in Dublin took down their hoops to prevent people coming to play. The only public court near me was constantly overcrowded. Basketball players had no access to their favourite sport for nine months. My sister missed her swimming and gymnastics. Many children who answered our call-out spoke about the sports they missed. One six-year old from Dublin said he wants to go to soft play, taekwondo and play dates. Students at St. Michael’s national school in Limerick missed sports, dance classes and hockey. Not everyone has access to a large, safe outdoor space. Sports are important for communities. They help people to stay fit and in a good mood and are good for mental health overall. If we have another lockdown, it will be important for the Government to improve facilities for all sports to encourage everybody to stay active and to be as inclusive as possible. We should support access to sports for everyone, even if there is not another lockdown.

It was a shame that The Ark's children’s cultural centre could not stay open during the pandemic. I was having lots of fun on the children’s council. I was enjoying meeting lots of new people who were interested in different things, and I was watching some plays, concerts and exhibitions and giving feedback on them. We had to go online, and it is very hard for the arts to operate this way. I really missed the orchestra. I made new friends there. Other children across Ireland felt the same. Marta, aged 9, spoke about missing her violin and music lessons. You can meet different types of people when you are involved in music or the arts, people who often are not at school. It is important to have different types of interests in your life and I am looking forward to starting back with the orchestra again. I hope the Government will support centres like The Ark, the National Concert Hall, NCH, and other institutions involved in arts and culture. Arts and culture are very important because they help boost creativity and confidence. It is a way to express your feelings. It also is a way to get your head clear for a while. I love nothing more than playing my cello for my grandparents, whether over Zoom or in person.

I was thinking about why art and culture is important for everyone. Sometimes people think art does not affect them, but everything in our lives has art within it and people take it for granted. Art, music and culture are there for us at the best and worst times. When we are very sad, like at a funeral, we recite poems that explain how we feel - we sang "Danny Boy" for my great granny's funeral - and when we are happy and joyful, like at a wedding, we also use music and dancing and art. Arts and culture are there at the most important times of our lives and I hope we appreciate the arts and artists even more after the pandemic.