Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an gcomhchoiste as cuireadh a thabhairt dúinn a bheith anseo inniu. My name is Katherine Licken and I am Secretary General of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. I am accompanied by Feargal Ó Coigligh, assistant secretary, culture division, and Conor Falvey, assistant secretary, corporate division. I thank the joint committee for inviting us to discuss sexual harassment in the arts and culture sector, with a focus on the policies, provisions, structures and procedures in place and required to address this issue.
In recent times there have been a number of allegations and reports about sexual harassment in the workplace relating to the arts community. These issues are undoubtedly not confined to this sector. However, since they have been raised in this sector, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, has announced a number of actions that she can take regarding the bodies reporting to the Department and in respect of the wider arts and culture sector. Everyone is entitled to be treated with respect, dignity, fairness and equality in the workplace. This principle is enshrined in employment legislation, particularly the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2015 and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.
I would like to set out the context for the actions the Minister has taken. First, it is a matter for the boards and directors or CEOs of the bodies funded by the Department, including those bodies directly under its remit, to ensure that, as employers, they are compliant with all aspects of employee rights legislation, including those aspects relating to sexual harassment in the workplace. All boards have a duty to ensure that their bodies comply with statutory requirements and that their staff can work in a safe and respectful environment. In addition, I would like to clarify that the relevant legislation regarding sexual harassment is a matter for the Department of Justice and Equality and that compliance with the law in this area, and indeed across a broad spectrum, is a matter for individual boards and directors.
Notwithstanding this, the Minister has taken a leadership role, within appropriate parameters, in order to shine a light on the issues and underline the importance of creating a culture of respect for the spirit as well as the letter of the law within the sector. Regarding those non-public bodies funded by the Department or the Arts Council, and the wider arts and cultural sector, the Minister has been working closely with both the Arts Council, representatives of which are here today, and the theatre sector to bring forward innovative ideas to address the issue of sexual harassment. On Friday, 10 November, she formally invited the group of eight leaders from Irish theatre organisations who recently co-signed a statement condemning sexual harassment and abuse of power in the theatre in Ireland to meet her and the Arts Council. The meeting which took place last Thursday focused on how the theatre sector in particular could come together to discuss the issues which have arisen. The Minister agreed to assist with any practical arrangements in this regard. Follow-up engagements continue, and a further announcement will be made in due course. Deputy Humphreys also identified a number of actions that she can take as Minister in respect of the bodies reporting to her Department. The intention is to help boards fulfil their functions more effectively and to support them in ensuring that policies on equality and respect in the workforce operate effectively and in line with best practice.
The actions now being taken are as follows. First, the Department is arranging separate dedicated governance workshops for the board members and the senior management of bodies directly reporting to the Department. These workshops will focus on governance in general, with a particular focus on the role of the board, the board's relationship with the executive and their respective legal responsibilities.
There will be a particular emphasis on issues relating to bullying, abuse of power and sexual harassment in the workplace.
Second, the Department is working on a collaborative basis with the Arts Council to make similar training available to other cultural organisations and arts centres around the country. It is intended to deliver this at a series of regional information days. The representative of the Arts Council will speak on this item also today. The Department has also highlighted to the bodies reporting to the Department the nature of their legal obligations by writing to them to seek assurances on their compliance with obligations under employment legislation. The legislation in question includes the Employment Equality Acts, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act and the Employment Equality Act 1998 (Code of Practice) (Harassment) Order 2012. While all State bodies are currently required to give such assurances in their annual reports and accounts, the Department is seeking an additional direct assurance to reinforce the importance of these obligations and to re-affirm the Department's expectations of State boards. Letters have issued to all bodies under the aegis of the Department and the Department looks forward to the response from each body.
Finally, the Department is accelerating a planned review of compliance by bodies reporting to the Department with the requirements of the code of practice for the governance of State bodies. The code was updated in 2016 and it is timely to review compliance now. A similar review was carried out in 2014 under the previous code.
While it is not appropriate for the Minister to become involved in, or to comment on, individual cases, the measures agreed in recent weeks aim to support the sector in contributing to the further enhancement of existing governance structures and bodies reporting to the Department. These combined initiatives aim to highlight the issues in the sector and beyond and to give a clear message that compliance with the law and a culture of dignity and respect are expected.
I look forward to the debate.