Ms Fiona Smith:

The national arts and health strategy is more than ten years out of date and we are sort of at sea. We do not know our direction, how the Arts Council engages with the HSE or how all of us fit in with that as programmes are developed or not developed or funding is not aligned to the work. It creates a lack of certainty in respect of how the sector can be professional and high quality and deliver for the people with whom we work. We are calling for real engagement on a national framework for arts and health alongside the other actions our colleagues have called for today.