Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 11 June 2025

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport

Arts Council Grant Management IT System: Discussion

2:00 am

Photo of Peter CleerePeter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I am conscious of the time so will be as brief as I can. To get into the specifics, the original budget was €2.97 million with a delivery date of June 2021. Is that correct? It was revised to €3.5 million with a delivery date of quarter 2 of 2022. The costs then rose to an outrageous €6.5 million by the time the Arts Council pulled the plug in June 2024. All the signs here are of a compulsive gambler chasing the next hit. Who was in charge? What does the Arts Council have to say to the Irish people for this monumental waste of Irish taxpayers' money?