John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

I have no statutory responsibility for the Abbey, which is operated by the National Theatre Society Limited, a private company limited by guarantee. My Department maintains liaison with the Abbey at various levels, and I have been briefed on recent developments regarding the theatre's finances and financial accounts. State subvention to the Abbey is provided by the Arts Council, which is a statutory agency under the aegis of my Department, independent in the disbursement of its funds under the provisions of the Arts Act 2003.

The Abbey is a key part of Ireland's cultural fabric, and it is imperative that it be placed on a sustainable basis for the future. This was the background to the decision of the Arts Council late last year to allocate an additional €2 million to the theatre. The release of this funding was conditional on the implementation by the Abbey of a wide-ranging change management programme as agreed with the council. Good progress is being made on many fronts with the delivery of this programme. I was very disappointed to hear last month of the shortcomings in the Abbey's financial management system to which the Deputy referred in his question and on which my Department was given a courtesy briefing by the chairman of the board of the theatre and the Arts Council. I welcome the decision of the board of the theatre to engage independent financial expertise to carry out a root and branch evaluation of the Abbey's finances. I understand a report should be available by the end of the month. The report will be discussed with the Arts Council and appropriate corrective action will then be taken.

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