Mr. Red Keane:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to speak here. I am the founder of Jazz Ireland and will be speaking about my experience as a disabled arts worker and am happy to take any questions at the end. Jazz Ireland was a project I created with the primary focus of supporting the Irish jazz scene and helping it grow. For seven years I worked tirelessly on the project without any funding and determined to make a difference. I built the website myself and maintained and developed it over the years. I am proud of what I accomplished and grateful for the opportunities it provided. I got to work with some incredible projects and amazing people, some of whom are now lifelong friends.

Jazz Ireland is the only dedicated national listings website for Irish jazz. It promoted 5,000 events in over 500 venues across Ireland. There were 97 podcast episodes and just under 3,000 newsletter subscribers, as well thousands of social media followers. It reached 139,000 website visitors from five continents and more than 40 different countries around the world. Jazz Ireland played a vital role in promoting Irish Jazz for musicians, venues, fans, organisations and researchers, as well as being a representative body for Irish jazz overseas.

On 1 May, I issued a statement of closure in which I explained the systemic barriers I face as a disabled person and how I could not continue anymore. In the three weeks since that announcement I have received messages of support from all over the world. At the very least, I can now put my arms around my work and call it a success. I am unable to apply for funding without penalties to my disability supports. The absence of funding has limited my professional growth and development. It has kept me on the fringes of a community I have supported for seven years and that barrier alone has hindered the realisation of my full potential. I am but one example of the untapped talent that will now remain dormant due to the lack of support and resources. If given the necessary assistance, I could have created employment opportunities for myself and others and contributed not only to the arts but to society as a whole. I stand before the committee today not to inspire members with tales of resilience, but to demand change. I implore members to reassess the rules and regulations that perpetuate systemic barriers for disabled artists. We need members commitment and tangible support, so I ask them to please listen to DADA's recommendations. I am grateful for the time.