Ms Gr?inne Hope:

AHCI thanks the committee for the invitation to join it today. AHCI is 20 years in existence this year and is a national voluntary network of arts and health managers and co-ordinators. We work across Ireland in a range of health and community contexts, often in collaboration with national and local government organisations. We come together to support the sector, collaborating across our expertise and leading on a range of innovative projects to support and benefit those we work with and for.

With regard to the topic today, our network commissioned an in-depth mapping of arts and health activity across Ireland in 2019. One of the key findings of the report was the significant role of local and community arts, health sectors and local government in the funding, development and delivery of arts and health projects and programmes across Ireland.

Arts and health is a field of professional practice that embraces all art forms and healthcare contexts. Programmes are delivered through partnerships between health service providers, arts organisations and professional artists specifically trained with additional skills to work in healthcare settings. Improving quality of life and cultural access in these settings is at the heart of arts and health work.

It is also important to state that arts and health is not arts therapy, nor is it an arts experience simply relocated from a traditional art space such as a gallery, concert hall or theatre into a healthcare setting. Arts and health is a field of professional practice that brings together the skills and priorities of both arts and health professionals. In best practice, it has arts and health expertise at its core with clear artistic vision, goal and outcomes and is delivered by paid professional arts and health artists.

The arts and health sector is growing in Ireland and AHCI recognises and welcomes recent significant developments, including the formation of the RENEW working group, an interdisciplinary government collaboration, the extension of the creative Ireland programme and the appointment of an HSE arts and health project lead.

However, there are still a number of key challenges, including the lack of an up-to-date national policy for arts and health, the inclusion of a framework for implementing and delivering arts and health in local government policies, and inadequate long-term funding and inconsistent governance arrangements. Most significant is the need for ongoing arts and health expertise and leadership within these structures to better support best practice and standards.

Our knowledge, leadership and expertise, as it relates to arts and health and local and community arts, enables us to contribute to this conversation and offer some important recommendations to the committee today. These include: a call to relevant state bodies and agencies to commit to prioritising and improving policy frameworks that support arts and health at national and local government levels, including updating the Arts Council of Ireland’s arts and health policy; a call for the inclusion of arts and health professionals as key experts in the design and development of arts and health policy and programmes both nationally and locally; and a call to improve sustainability and standards for the sector through greater investment and better resourcing for education and training in the field of arts and health, including good conditions and fair pay for artists.

It is the assertion of AHCI that local and community arts and the role of local government in the process are, and should continue to be, vital partners and collaborators in the design and delivery of excellent arts and health practices across Ireland. It is also our assertion that the continued success of these valuable collaborations is dependent on a well-resourced, well-funded sector that is supported by excellent policy frameworks. We ask the committee to support the implementation of our recommendations.

In closing, we ask members to consider holding a future meeting of the committee on arts and health with key Government stakeholders from both arts and health agencies. We would welcome an opportunity to contribute to this discussion.