Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all our guests. It is incumbent on us as public representatives, in conjunction with the Arts Council, to make art accessible to the entire public and allow those who have a disability to participate in the arts. The comment "nothing about us without us" was made earlier. A friend of mine from Longford whom some of our guests might know, James Cawley, who is a policy officer with Independent Living Movement Ireland, regularly quotes that line.

Is there any arts facility in the country, funded by the Government or through the Arts Council, that is not accessible at present for a person with a disability? Is there anybody on the Arts Council who represents those with a disability? I ask because I believe that a person with a lived experience is best placed to give that advice.

I apologise if this has been covered, but what sort of funding is put in place yearly for the arts and disability connect scheme and should that be improved?

Senator Malcolm Byrne raised the issue of festivals, many of which are funded either through the LEADER programme or by Fáilte Ireland. Perhaps there should be a disability access policy as part of that application process, whereby the organisers would map out and be able to show they are catering for those needs when they make an application for funding, especially when it is State funding.

The St. Patrick's Day festivals to be held throughout the country are approaching, with a welcome-back after two years. I am from Longford, where we are working with the local chamber of commerce to provide a quiet section of a street to accommodate those, particularly from the autism community, who find it difficult to enjoy a parade because of the loud noise and so on. We are also putting in place a parking area adjacent to the street to accommodate people who require wheelchair access and so on. As parades and festivals are returning to our towns throughout the country, perhaps the organisers will take that on board.

Every local authority should take that on board as the parades, festival and so on are coming back to towns throughout the country, so that we can cater to those who have not gone to festivals in the past because of noise, sirens, and such. They should make sure that the committees have something in place to identify in advance the needs of those in wheelchairs, etc., so that they are able to enjoy the parades.