Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and her officials for staying with us to discuss this. I commend the Irish Theatre Institute, the Arts Council and the Department for helping to bring this report together and Jane Daly and Siobhán Burke, who worked on the report. When they were before the committee they said that just after this report was launched, another was launched by, I think, the Law Society. As the Minister says, this is an issue across the entirety of our society and all its sectors, but that is cold comfort. No one wants to talk down any industry, but when there are problems we need to acknowledge and to address them.

I have engaged with people over the years, like the women in FairPlé and the #misefosta women who came out online as well, who have led the way in getting this committee to address the issue and progress the conversation with the Department. I want to commend all of those people and express my solidarity with them. There has been a lack of research in the arts and culture for years and we have been relying on outdated data. It is important we continue to develop data and this is just one example of that. Is there any plan to keep an eye on all of the art forms in terms of research and data? This was obviously an Irish Theatre Institute report and it mentions everything from traditional arts to theatre. Are there plans in terms of research across all the different art forms?

The second question relates to the talk about funding conditionality. The agencies have various requirements. Can I be confident that the Department has the same requirements as the agencies do? The Arts Council seems to set a very high bar. It allocates funding to the tune of €130 million thanks to the Department's increased allocations. Screen Ireland allocates €36 million. The Department allocates a significant amount of money to organisations. Can I be assured the same rigorous application process for moneys takes place by way of the Department's funding channels as it does in the Arts Council or Screen Ireland, for example? Does the Minister have any numbers in terms of people who have engaged with Minding Creative Minds for counselling and advisory services? How many people have used that service?