Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his comments and questions. He acknowledged the fact that I met the chair of Galway 2020, Ms Aideen McGinley, on 13 September to discuss recent developments on Galway 2020. It is obvious that my Department, as the biggest funder of the event, has a keen interest in making sure it is a success. The European Capital of Culture project is very important. The Deputy also acknowledged the appointment of Ms Patricia Philbin yesterday as the new CEO of Galway 2020. She was seconded from Galway city council, where she worked as the director of services, and she has been welcomed by the current board.

I agree with the Deputy's comments on the performance delivery agreement. My Department is acutely aware of it and wishes to expedite its signing. We hope to have that done by the end of September. It is important that we are in a position to support this programme as much as possible. It is a very ambitious programme. Galway will be in a European and possibly global spotlight, so we want to make sure it is carried out in the best way possible. There has to be accountability for all of the funding we have given. My Department has committed €15 million. We have spent more than €250,000, and the rest of the money will be spent in 2019 and 2020. I believe it will be a success.

Redundancies or resignations can occur at any stage of such a programme, particularly at the beginning or at the delivery and implementation phase. We are very aware of what is going on. It is important to point out that an EU monitoring committee is involved as well, ensuring that it is progressed in a proper way.

My Department has a very small budget for festivals - some €50,000 - and the main funder in that space is the Arts Council. I am in the process of negotiating with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, to increase moneys to the Arts Council, although I cannot make any guarantees about that. The Arts Council provides funding to support festivals throughout the country. I agree with the Deputy that small-scale festivals are very important. I have spoken to the Chair about it also. We launched local authority programmes recently which provide moneys for small-scale festivals as well. My Department provided €2 million and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government provided €1 million towards those festivals.