Mr. Pádraig Naughton:

I begin by thanking the Chairman, Deputies and Senators on behalf of Arts & Disability Ireland for this invitation to me and our chair, Ms Niamh Ní Chonchubhair, to speak before this Oireachtas joint committee. Arts & Disability Ireland is the national development and resource organisation for arts and disability. We champion the creativity of artists and promote inclusive experiences for audiences. Examples of our work include Arts and Disability Connect, an Arts Council funding scheme managed by Arts & Disability Ireland, which since its inception in 2014 has awarded 115 artists with disabilities a total of €354,638 through new work, mentoring, training and, since 2021, research and development awards. As the scheme has grown, Arts & Disability Ireland has encountered more artists who are struggling to avail of arts grants while in receipt of disability allowance, the blind or invalidity pension.

Since 2006, Arts & Disability Ireland has been to the forefront in developing audio description and captioning for visually impaired and deaf audiences. During the pandemic we have continued to deliver these services, including for an in-person and on-demand streaming of Rosaleen McDonagh’s Walls and Windowsat the Abbey Theatre. Digital presentation has made the arts more accessible nationally and there is demand for a hybrid model as an access accommodation going forward.

In March 2021, Arts & Disability Ireland gathered global leaders and advocates for From Access to Inclusion as a reimagined online summit. Attracting 1,547 participants from 32 countries, Arts & Disability Ireland has been able to link Irish arts professionals committed to access with a global community of like-minded peers from across the arts, cultural, heritage and tourism sectors. Arts & Disability Ireland's vision is that people with disabilities can fully participate in the cultural life of Ireland on an equal basis with others, where "nothing about us" is "without us".