Ms Jane Daly:

I agree with Ms Traynor and SAOI that not much change is being seen on the ground. We say in the report that there needs to be top-down change because the people who make up 63% of our respondents are freelance artists and they are the ones who are most disempowered and vulnerable. They are also the people who keep their heads down for fear of losing employment and in the knowledge that accountability and consequence do not really happen when issues are raised. I return to the issues of leadership and cross-agency, cross-departmental action. People have to be held to account. Leaders have to stand up. In our sector we are prepared to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to make change but we are just a small sector within a much larger sector. It is about calling on everybody to acknowledge that they are not perfect, that we all have flaws but that it is possible to change. In some cases that will take legislation and in some cases it will take conditions. For example, if you do not meet the criteria of your obligations, there will be consequences in terms of funding or losing your job. If there are criminal issues happening, and we know from the report that a percentage of respondents had experienced sexual assault, there will be prosecutions. The immediate answer is "no, not hugely", although the Minister has allocated funding and there are immediate things happening. The bigger issues are those for which we all have shared responsibility.