Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending. It is appropriate that we thank local authorities for all the work they do in the arts. It is about not just the funding, which is important, but also the supportive staff and the networking that is done. I certainly see it in Wexford, where I am based. We have got advice from Waterford City and County Council, which has worked on the Waterford Walls project, about a lot of the murals that have been produced in Wexford. There are ways we can work around it.

All the members of this committee are passionate about the arts. At the end of this process, we want to produce a report that will influence Government policy on how we can support local and community arts. It is about trying to support what arts officers, librarians and others do on the ground but also artists and community and local groups. The reports that come from the committee do impact on Government policy, and while we may come from differing political backgrounds, we tend to work in a collegial way. I would like the report to recognise the work being done by local authorities in strengthening the work of local arts officers, in particular. Are there specific recommendations for national policy decisions the witnesses think will help the councils in their work?

My next question relates to access for those from socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. There is often a false perception that some elements of the arts are elitist. What are the local authorities doing to target disadvantaged groups? Are there policy issues they think we could address? Space is one, but there might be others we could look at.

I am conscious art is universal, but how can we support art in rural communities?

Given that the Waterford local authority's area comprises the county and the city, there may be good examples in that context. From a policy perspective, what can we look at doing to support art in rural areas?

To think about recommendations in the context of how we support voluntary and community artists, in all our communities there are art circles, music groups and drama groups that are rich and vibrant. In terms of national policy, what more can we do to support them directly or through supporting arts offices? Perhaps some of the arts officers or librarians might want to take this question. If they were sitting in front of the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, or the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, what would be their core recommendation to address some of these aspects that they would wish to proceed with? I am happy for anyone who wishes to do so to seize the initiative and answer first.