Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Naughton. I do not have any further questions. I thank the witnesses. I will make a point and then call Deputy Mythen again. I concur with what Mr. Naughton said. There has been substantial growth in arts centres and venues since the access funding became available. There has been more capital investment, infrastructure, and many more state-of-the-art buildings.

Prior to that we often found that arts venues were reinvented places, such as garages that became arts venues. These were buildings that were manipulated into makeshift arts venues. This is from where many of them have grown. Unfortunately, they are not all at the point of getting a state-of-the-art building. From a government point of view there is a lot of emphasis on accessibility when it comes to not only capital expenditure but also programming. We will see continued improvements in this area. I take Senator Carrigy's point. Some of the venues pose difficulties for people with a disability. If a county has one theatre it might be the sum total of it. This is another challenge in terms of how far people have to travel to find a building that is accessible and that has audio and tactile opportunities. There is a way to go on all of this.