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

The Deputy is absolutely right that we do not want to see duplication. That is why, in 2016, many of the different arms of local authorities came together for the first time. We had the 2016 commemorative co-ordinators, an initiative that worked extremely well. I went back out to meet the different stakeholders in the local authorities and what they said to me was that they - the arts officers, the museum curators, the heritage officers and the different sections within the authorities - had worked together for the first time. This is a legacy programme from 2016. We have the creative co-ordinators working within the local authorities, working with communities and working with all of the different officers. They are all working together and the creative co-ordinator may at times be the arts officer, the museum curator or the heritage officer.

I met them all yesterday. They were meeting over two days at the National Concert Hall to consider their plans going forward. They are all very excited about this and they think it is the right way in terms of getting more engagement with the arts, first, through enabling the creative potential of children and, second, through community. They are all working collaboratively. The Deputy is exactly right when she says she does not want to see duplication, and that is why they are doing this together. We are, of course, working very closely with the Arts Council as well.

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