Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I welcome our witnesses. Before we delve into some of the issues, I am enormously appreciative in general of the work the Arts Council has been doing. There has been a step change in terms of funding and support for the arts here. We do have some serious issues that we need to address, and I will come to those challenges, but it is important to put it on the record - notwithstanding those issues and we do have to ask about them - that I thought Maureen Kennelly provided great leadership in the arts community. I was disappointed that the board's recommendation to extend her term, as is normal, was not taken on by the Minister. I wish to say that I do have confidence in her leadership, the staff and the board. This is not to say there are no criticisms and this is to be accepted. It is important, however, to recognise much of the good work that has been done, particularly under the last Government. I hope it will continue under the current Minister. I refer to the Arts Council's funding having significantly increased and the introduction of the basic income scheme for artists.

The challenge I referred to relates to all that. I was on the previous iteration of this committee and recall asking a question about the Arts Council taking on all these additional resources and if it believed it had sufficient numbers of staff to be able to support all these new schemes. I am conscious that question was asked. Having posed the query during a meeting of the last committee, I will ask it again here. Does Ms Kennelly think there was a sufficient level of staffing given all the new challenges placed on the Arts Council?