Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----as I certainly would not use them. One of the founding principles of Aosdána was to recognise the huge contribution made by artists and the creative arts to this country. I recognise the incredibly important role that artists play. It is very important we recognise and value this role, and to this end I am developing a pilot initiative with my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Varadkar, to make it easier for artists to access social welfare supports. However, I remind the Deputy this was set up to be independent of the Minister in funding decisions under section 24(2) of the Arts Act 2003. I cannot interfere and if I was to interfere, the Deputy would be the one to tell me I should not be interfering.

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