Mr. Niall Burgess:

If I take New York, there are a number of factors. When the Irish arts centre in New York was originally conceived - it was not a Government project, but a project that was taken on largely by the Irish community in New York itself - they were conscious of the fact that almost every European community in New York has a platform for its culture in New York. The Irish arts centre in New York, which was a very small operation, was teaching dance, giving language classes and offering a venue to host young Irish artists who were coming over. It was really done on a very modest basis. I think the community itself felt it wanted a platform that was comparable with what other communities have but also was a worthy platform for Irish culture in the US. By far the greater part of the funding for that project has come from New York City Council-----