Mr. Ollie Kenny:

Speaking from the amateur theatre point of view, the challenges ahead are quite significant. The Drama League of Ireland is a resource organisation, which has charitable status. Most charitable organisations have an advice centre and helplines and they provide support. We provide advice on practice and policy for the sector. The biggest challenge facing us is that we will need backing and support for some of the work that we do. Our board comes up with ideas on how to disseminate the development programme. Our mission is development and training of the sector but we need administrative support and a back-up facility in the form of a properly staffed office. We have one administrator who works 22 hours a week and we need something a lot more sustainable in the future to look at the deployment and creation of professional workshops and getting professional practitioners to engage with them. We need to find venues for the workshops and the summer school and someone to look after the practicalities of all of the administration involved in that. That is the big challenge for us going forward.