Mr. Damien McGlynn:

I would like to pick up on a couple of those points. When we speak about the theatre being the backbone of the community, this is what I was referring to in my opening statement. Sometimes we think about arts and cultural venues but actually there is a complete overlap in community spaces. We tend to think we need to build the big county arts centre all the time but actually what people usually need is basic spaces that are affordable and accessible in their own towns. It sounds as though the theatre in Longford that was mentioned is playing that role. We have seen in our work in Tuam and elsewhere that those spaces are really crucial. There is an issue in that they are often quite neglected. The point about capital funding came up earlier. Sometimes there is a lack of clarity about where that can be accessed to look after spaces we have. That happens, as people have said, in both urban and rural contexts. We have a problem with looking after some of the cultural spaces we have, and then trying to chase after new ones, but there is an issue about maintenance and looking after them.

With regard to the point on fundraising, prior to taking on this job, I worked for many years in amateur arts so I know this context very well. When I would meet such groups and they would tell me they needed funding, my question always was: “What do you need the money for?”. The money was never the solution. It was what they needed it for. Often it would come back to this issue of facilities and space. If we can make more of that infrastructure to support culture at a local level, available to people so that it is accessible and affordable it eliminates some of that need. Instead of each group going around shaking buckets to try to raise money, we need to find that collaborative model of how we do that.

The other point is about AIMS potentially distributing funding. Again, I know the people on the AIMS team quite well. I fear for them if they suddenly have to distribute money. The Arts Council will say, as will CREATE, the national development agency for collaborate arts, which distributes funding on behalf of the Arts Council through the arts in the community scheme, it is not a huge amount but distributing funding on a national basis is a really tough job. We need to find the right structures to get the right money and the right support to the people in question. However, I agree wholeheartedly.