Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I agree, but I note that the correspondence is dated 17 October. I welcome it. This is something on which we are keeping a close eye in view of what happened with the Pálás Cinema in Galway and the failure of governance and Department oversight there. The letter reassures us that the Department is monitoring this matter closely and that an audit committee, on which the Minister is represented, has been set up and meets regularly. I remain concerned, however, that there is no performance delivery agreement for the Galway 2020 programme. I have asked numerous parliamentary questions and followed the issue up here. I have been informed that it is coming and that the terms of the agreement set out the conditions for the release of the funds. Presumably, this means that they will do so. We are talking about €15 million. Some €250,000 has already been disbursed and a further €6 million will be disbursed in 2019.

I am raising this matter because we have been here already with the Pálás Cinema. We have been here with a special chapter from the Department. All of these are very good ideas. The Pálás Cinema was a very good idea. It is a privilege for Galway to be named European Capital of Culture 2020, but the operation of it is a completely different matter. The performance delivery agreement is at an advanced stage of negotiation. In the meantime, a series of people have left the board in Galway. It is interesting that we have a head of programme, a head of production, a director of communications, a director of finance and operations and a head of human resources for Galway 2020, but we do not yet have anyone in charge of the culture and leadership role. The Department recognises that this is important. The Galway 2020 programme seriously lacks of someone in charge with, in the Department's terms "the required creative talent".

I highlight this because we look back on the Pálás Cinema story and we cannot do anything about it. We can certainly do something about the governance of this from the Department's point of view and from our own. I would like to see a performance delivery agreement or whatever it is called.