Mr. Se?n McKeown:

As Kilkenny was mentioned, I want to add to some of the comments Mr. Kehoe made in respect of placemaking. We have certainly found that when integrating the arts, particularly public art, into the design of our towns and villages, the public spaces, the public realm and that whole placemaking element is really important, and we are beginning to see the economic dividend. I am not going to mention any particular company but we recently got feedback from an inward investment into Kilkenny. It was very pleasing to hear from the senior management that one of the contributory factors to the decision they made to come to Kilkenny was the fact that the public realm blew them away, as well as that whole placemaking piece. This was a place they could come to that respected its traditions, respected its local art forms and celebrated that. The public realm that we have now is designed in such a way that the festivals we run throughout the year can be run in our open spaces and public spaces. They witnessed that and that was one of the contributory factors to their decision. This was not just a place like any other town in Ireland, where careers could be built. This is where we could have a quality of life and invest in futures. They could see what the local authority had done in that regard. The dividends are clear. The economic dividend from the investment that is made through the arts will be realised, and Kilkenny is evidence of that.