Mr. Ray Yeates:

A few years ago, the HSE promoted an assist programme whereby young people at risk could be identified. One of the great ways of identifying such young people is by engaging them in a creative activity. We can look at who is engaging, how they are engaging and what they are talking about outside the main activity. All the arts facilitators were trained in the assist programme and then ran the programme, in collaboration with the HSE, very successfully. Having said it was successful, it also was sad to see a lot of cases identified and a lot of people referred. A large number of agencies are looking for solutions. There can sometimes be an unease in the arts about being implemented, so to speak, for the purpose of providing solutions. As long as the quality of the art is good, I do not mind if it is also supplying a lot of other social needs, such as developing confidence and encouraging people to have a greater spirit. The assist programme is one particular example of how that can be done. There are many more. Once an artist starts to work with a kind of emotional intelligence inside certain areas, that will have a big effect outside of the arts work itself. The programme I mentioned was one specific example of that.