Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

Again, I am not proposing there should be any more major capital investment at this time. The main issue is, the need to ensure the proper services and activities are provided. It has been pointed out to me that many art centres and festivals do not have computerised box offices or marketing systems. This is an area in which there could be investment. I do believe we need any more buildings as we have more than enough of them. Many of the buildings we have are excellent and are a great credit to us as a country. The question that arises and which arose in previous discussions is how the people in the arts and culture are to be supported and sustained in their jobs.

I do not understand the reason it takes so long to collate information to provide an audit of facilities. The Minister might recall the same problem arose with portakabins in schools. Why does it take so long to put this information together?

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