Dr. Audrey Whitty:

With regard to the fundraising issue for independent museums or, more to the point, the financial instability arising from the pandemic, we believe there is great potential to establish a dedicated collaborative task force to look at that particular issue under the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future. This task force could be expanded across Departments to support museums and relevant agencies and bodies under whose remit museums fall. That would look at the long-term sustainability of the independent museum sector, as the Senator outlined. We also believe there is a need for a national strategy for museum development, which would again encompass the independent museum sector. This would aim to ensure more fluid dialogue between Departments and agencies to keep it within the national framework. We see those two proposals as possible ways to alleviate the strain on the independent museum sector.

With regard to the night-time economy, there is great potential to look at this issue under the auspices of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media as Ms Heaney, chair of the National Museum of Ireland, has outlined. I am referring to the use of the cultural space within the night-time economy. Museums in particular are well positioned to be central to those particular spaces. I will stop now and allow the National Museum of Ireland representatives to come in.