John Gormley
Question:156 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the policies and strategies being pursued by her Department to promote arts based activities for people with a disability. [24380/98]
Written Answers - Arts and Disability.
The Deputy will be aware that one of my key priorities for the arts, as identified in the Government's programme An Action Plan for the Millennium, is support for disabled artists. In this regard, when I appointed a new Arts Council earlier this year, I was particularly pleased to nominate to the council a person with particular knowledge of the issues relating to arts and disability.
Arts and disability is one of the areas specifically referred to under the terms of reference of the review of the current arts plan which I have commissioned and which I expect to receive the report on shortly. Arts and disability organisations, as well as other arts groups, were invited to participate in the review process by making submissions to the consultants who are carrying out the review on my behalf. The review will inform the development of a new arts plan by the Arts Council.