The Arts Council has played a central role in developing the arts at local level since 1973, when the second Arts Act, among other reforms, brought local authorities formally into play as providers and potentially policy-makers for the arts.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the working relationship between the council and local authorities was expressed chiefly through the creation of new jointly funded local arts officer posts. The success of this strategy exceeded the projections in the first Arts Plan (1995-1998), with the number of county arts officers increasing by 15 (rather than six as projected in the plan), bringing the number of county arts officers this year to 31.

These individuals - as local arts facilitators, promoters and artistic policy-makers - have played a greater role than perhaps any other single factor in transforming the local landscape for the arts in Ireland. Readers of this newspaper will be familiar with their achievements, because hardly a week goes by without a regional feature celebrating some new artistic initiative. Some recent examples include the Sligo residency of the world-renowned Vogler Quartet, the Wexford Arts in Schools project, or the new Errigal Arts Festival in Donegal, all directly promoted by the local arts officer, and co-funded by the Arts Council.

In an effort to take stock of the nature and extent of change and development in the local arts scene, the council's own local arts development officers undertook an extensive programme of consultation last autumn, designed to inform the preparation of the second arts plan. More than 20 meetings were organised in co-operation with local arts officers throughout the State, and the main conclusions published in the consultative review which accompanied the publication of the Arts Plan 1999-2001 earlier this year.

Participants in this process included all the players in the arts in the local community. These included professional and amateur artists, amateur arts activists, managers of mature and emerging arts organisations, voluntary and professional members of companies creating new venues for the arts, teachers, organisers of local festivals - as well as county arts officers. The agenda for action ranged from the needs of the arts in education to the provision of a balanced physical and human infrastructure for the arts, and for recognition of the amateur as well as the professional practitioner.

But the strongest and perhaps most encouraging strand to emerge is the clear signal from local authorities and communities that local arts planning was most appropriately undertaken at local level, supported as necessary by relationships with national policy and development agencies. It is this fundamental shift to a more highly devolved model of local arts planning and provision which informs the philosophy of the second arts plan. Under one of the plan's central strategies, the council is committed ". . . to increasing access to the arts and further strengthen local government provision"; the plan recognises that "the opportunity now exists to work closely with local authorities which have developed a commitment to the arts".

Moving on towards a redefinition of a set of relationships that has served the arts so well to date is a complex and laborious process. It involves dialogue with a range of participants, the definition and promotion of best practice, the preparation and dissemination of research, as well as direct funding of hundreds of locally-based arts activities.

In the last four months, the Arts Council has had briefing meetings with local arts officers as a group and with the City and County Managers' Association, among others, to promote this developmental agenda. Further meetings have been sought by the council with both groups, to specify a programme of collaborative action.

SOME local authorities have already shown considerable leadership in preparing strategic plans for the arts in their local area.

There can be no doubt that the capacity for local arts planning has been greatly enhanced by the presence of a professional arts manager in the local authority structure. In recognition of these changed circumstances, the council has already agreed that a number of these will be the subject of an accelerated programme intended to bring a greater practical level of devolution into the council's funding relationship with these authorities for 2000, with the aim of extending this approach to other authorities in successive years.

It would be naive to pretend that this process will proceed without some conflict and debate. No single group, however passionate its convictions, has sole responsibility for devising or indeed implementing the programme of development that will create the optimum climate for the arts locally throughout Ireland.

The Arts Council, for its part, has intensified rather than diminished its commitment, and is in the course of increasing its own human resources in this area. It is providing further increased financial provision for local structures. It is the second-greatest financial provision in the plan, second only to the development of new audiences for the arts.

Mary Cloake was appointed development director of the Arts Council in 1997 and is currently completing a research project at the Policy Institute, Trinity College Dublin.