Mr. Peter Hynes:

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. I thank you for the invitation to present to the meeting, which is extremely important. I am chair of the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland. I am joined by Ms Mary Blanchfield, our chief executive officer, and we are supported by Mr. Muiris Kennedy, a consultant who has worked in this area for some time.

The Design and Crafts Council of Ireland is the national agency for craft and design in Ireland. We support designers and makers to develop their businesses in a sustainable way and advocate for the societal benefits of Irish craft and design, both nationally and internationally. Our activities are funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment via Enterprise Ireland. We currently have 64 member organisations and more than 3,500 registered clients, which are generally small companies and sole practitioners. We are a company limited by guarantee with a board of 12 directors, four of whom are appointed directly by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, including the chair. The remaining eight directors are elected by the DCCI membership organisations. Grant Thornton’s economic impact assessment of the design and crafts sector in Ireland found that the craft sector generates €2.9 billion in gross value added. It also found that the sector is the tenth largest employment sector on the island of Ireland, with 19,000 operational enterprises supporting 59,000 employees.

We provide practical supports to emerging and established designers and craftspeople through a range of programmes and services. We are conscious of the need for continuous training and skills development for the design and craft sector to ensure a continuous pipeline of innovative products are coming on stream to the market, both nationally and internationally. We provide a mix of blended, online and in-person courses in business skills, as well as advanced craft courses in jewellery and ceramics at the DCCI academy in Thomastown, County Kilkenny, in partnership with Atlantic Technological University. Each year, we organise a number of national and international trade and consumer events including Showcase Ireland, which was founded in 1976 by DCCI. It is one of the country’s largest international trade shows. The annual event is attended by trade buyers from more 25 countries and generates significant revenue for the Irish economy. Our Made Local nationwide campaign highlights the importance of supporting the local design and craft community by buying sustainably produced craft and design. Now in its fourth year, this campaign has shown the positive impact initiatives like this can have for designers, craftspeople and the economy as a whole.

Our executive team is responsible and accountable for the leadership and day-to-day management and operation of the organisation. The team acts within the approved policies of the DCCI board of directors and consistent with the priorities of its clients. The executive team comprises the CEO and heads of department, who report directly to the CEO and provide regular updates to the board. The CEO reports to the DCCI chair and board. Our office and the DCCI National Design and Craft Gallery are located in Castle Yard, Kilkenny, with 20 full-time employees at present. The DCCI academy building is located in Thomastown, County Kilkenny. This year has seen the opening of our jewellery craft school, which will hopefully be followed next year by the ceramic school. Watch the space in Thomastown. I will now hand over to DCCI's CEO to take the committee members through the rest of our opening statement.