Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 15 December 2016

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs

Mary Robinson Centre: Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

2:15 pm

Photo of Marie Louise O'DonnellMarie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Regarding the proposed Mary Robinson centre in Ballina, I am from that area and people are very proud of the former President and all she has achieved. Perhaps Mayo County Council did not carry out enough analysis in respect of the project and things were not fully thought through. In the case of all concerned, their heart was in the right place and they did the right thing for the right reasons. I am sorry that matters are at an impasse but there is no indication of misappropriation of funds or anything sinister or clandestine like that, regardless of what might have come out on "Prime Time". That was not necessarily the whole truth. What options are open to Mayo County Council at this stage? Unlike the Department, which only gave a promise of funding, the council is significantly out of pocket. Can the council reapply for funding under some other process? Perhaps the matter is outside the Minister's remit.

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