A lack of facilities permitting disabled people to access the arts in Waterford has been identified in a five-year development plan published on Monday.
The Waterford City Council arts plan is the culmination of a two-year consultation process with close to 100 organisations and individuals in the city.
It sets out Waterford's strengths, such as the quality of its architecture, an "extremely vibrant" drama sector, its annual Spraoi festival, the growing number of music students at Waterford Institute of Technology and the increase in facilities for the visual arts in recent years.
But it also addresses weaknesses such as the lack of appropriate facilities to allow disabled people to access arts venues. This, it says, is "clearly an acute gap".
"There is a need to remove barriers to those with mobility, hearing, sight, learning, speech and other difficulties. This includes issues of access to buildings for audiences, participants and staff as well as equipment to enable full participation."
Although Spraoi attracts more than 50,000 people to the city each August bank holiday weekend, the plan says, recent research indicates there is very low national recognition of Waterford as a festival destination.
"This raises the question of whether the city is doing enough to maximise the potential profile and promotion value of Spraoi, and indeed towards developing new festival concepts," it says.
Ambitious plans to develop film production and operatic activity in the city are also outlined in the plan. Only one group, Waterford Film Society, has film as its core area of activity. The society runs two seasons of film each year at the Garter Lane Arts Centre.
"The city council will support a feasibility study in relation to the development of a 'film maker's production package', to entice high-profile film companies to utilise the city and its environs," the plan says.
In a section dealing with opera, it promises that the council will "actively encourage" the formation of a professional opera company in Waterford.