Ms Maureen Kennelly:

The recent report brought forward by the Irish Theatre Institute highlights the gravity of the situation as regards having a safe and respectful environment working in the arts and it emphasises for us all the need for immediate and urgent action. In that regard, I am grateful to the committee for the opportunity to address it today so that we may all work together to remedy this situation. As members know, the Arts Council is the Irish Government agency for developing the arts. We work in partnership with artists, arts organisations, policymakers and others to build a central place for the arts. Our ten-year strategy is Making Great Art Work. Through that, we set out to spend funding strategically and we are determined that all of our actions reflect the long-term interests of the public.

Our strategy outlines five values and I want to touch on them with members because they are relevant to today’s topic. These values are: freedom of thought and of expression; commitment to excellence in all aspects of what we do and among those we support; integrity, accountability and transparency in all of our decision-making, especially our investment of public moneys; respect for diversity of artistic practice, public engagement and social and cultural traditions; and collegiality, communicating and working respectfully with partners, stakeholders and the whole arts sector. That final value is particularly pertinent to today’s topic. These values are given life through our policies and actions, which I will address shortly.

I want to talk about our dignity at work policy, which is primarily internally focused. We are aware that the standards we uphold must be as high as those we expect of the arts sector. This policy states that we recognise the right of all employees to be treated with dignity and respect and that we are committed to ensuring that all employees are provided with a safe and respectful working environment, free from all forms of bullying, sexual harassment and other harassment.

We introduced our Paying the Artist policy in February 2020. We are concerned with the rights and needs of artists as workers. Our vision is for an Ireland where artists and practitioners, whose exceptional talent and commitment lead them to work professionally in the arts, can have productive and rewarding careers. We seek to create an environment in which artists can make work of ambition and quality, and be paid appropriately. That is very important to us. We know pay is not the only issue contributing to the precariousness of artists’ lives. However, we also know that if artists are not properly paid for their work, a career in the arts is not viable. There are many variations in pay across the different disciplines and many contractual issues, which can lead to further vulnerability and heightened risks for those working within the arts.

We introduced our equality, human rights and diversity policy in early 2019 and it is probably the most pertinent policy in terms of today’s subject matter. In everything we do we strive to respect, support and ensure the inclusion of all voices and cultures that make up Ireland today, from all sections of society, including existing and new communities, and from all social backgrounds, ethnicities and traditions.