Sir, - The Arts Council published its current Arts Plan in 1999, following extensive consultation with the public and with the arts sector. The time has come to review it, and we are again asking questions about the successes and failures of our strategies for developing the arts in Ireland.
As well as assessing how we have done in the past, we are looking to the future and laying the groundwork for the next Arts Plan. Limited resources mean we cannot do everything we would like. We try to make sure that our energies, and the public's money, are focused on supporting and encouraging the best of Ireland's living culture. But are we making the right choices? To answer this question, the Arts Council needs the input of the arts community and of all who care about the arts.
In the next month, we are asking newspapers and radio stations to help us to stimulate a media debate, and we are making full use of information technology by promoting comment and discussion through the Internet. Arts Council members and staff are working on different parts of the Arts Plan review and we are posting documents on the Arts Council website for comments. These will report on what we have achieved and what we believe our priorities should be in the coming years.
Not everybody has home access to the Internet, but most people live within a few miles of free access points in public libraries. Log on and give us your views, and read what others have to say in our discussion forum. Radio stations will be transmitting programmes on the Arts Plan, so keep an eye on their schedules, listen in and air your opinions. For those who prefer words on paper, just write to us and we will send you the documentation.
The consultation period is from now until the end of May. The timetable can be found on the following website: http://www.artscouncil.ie/ artsplan/artsplanreview; or you can write to Arts Plan Review, Arts Council, 70 Merrion Square, Dublin 2. - Yours, etc.,
Nessa O'Mahony, Head of Public Affairs, The Arts Council, Dublin 2.