Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To be clear, the council, not the Department, was the project promoter. It was not considered necessary to carry out due diligence because we were not the promoter of the project. The project was being assessed by the Department and the grant approved on a set of standard conditions. These conditions were put in place. Mayo County Council was the promoter and it conceived, developed and procured funding for the project because there were other funding sources coming forward. It was to be responsible for the centre's operation when the project was complete. As the project promoter, Mayo County Council is responsible for employing a competent design team, the quantity surveyor and the project manager and would have the control to ensure that the project went according to plan.

There have been a number of projects that my Department funded in a similar way. People came forward with a number of different schemes. One of the major projects awarded grants in recent years was that relating to Wexford Opera House, which got €31 million. It all comes out of the A7 subhead of my Department by means of which capital infrastructure is funded. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and its 15 centres were given €19 million; the Athlone Little Theatre was given €30,000; Boston College Active Research Limited got €25,600; Druid Theatre in Galway got €1.1 million; the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin got €7.8 million; and the Gate Theatre got €2.1 million. There are a number of different projects that have come in over the years that were funded in that way. Most recently, we worked with the GPO and funded it to the tune of €7 million but it was responsible for the project. It was the same with the National Archives and the National Concert Hall. That is the way we work with different organisations. We assist them in bringing forward projects.

As the Chairman said, this project was in Ballina and I went to visit the town. I met with the county manager and felt this was an opportunity to move such a centre outside of the city. The Chairman can appreciate that was attractive when looking at the project because it was something in rural Ireland. It would allow people to come to Ballina. Mary Robinson is very well known in terms of human rights. It was looked at because it was her family home. The place where it was located was important in her childhood and formative hears so it was certainly a good location.