Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

Ba mhaith liom tréaslú leis an Teachta Walsh as a chéad óráid anseo sa Dáil agus as gur thóg sé ábhar chomh tábhachtach le Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe. Tuigfidh éinne a bhfuil aon eolas ar dhrámaíocht nó litríocht na Gaeilge aige nó aici an tábhacht atá le Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe ó 1928 nuair a bunaíodh é. Tuairim pearsanta atá sa mhéid sin, mar go bhfuil suim agam sa dhrámaíocht. Tá amharclann lán-Ghaeilge sa cheantar ar as mé féin, Gaoth Dobhair, a bhfuil clú agus cáil air. Tá a fhios sin ag an Teachta ar an taobh trasna, mar is dóigh go raibh sé in amharclann Ghaoth Dobhair. Nuair a bhí mise i mo bhuachaill ó, cosúil leis an Teachta, ba ghnáth liom anois agus arís, a bheith ag aisteoireacht sa Damer, i bhFaiche Stiabhna anseo i mBaile Átha Cliath. B'shin an t-amharclann a bhí ag Gael Linn, ach faraor, níl sé ann anois. Is mór an trua é nach bhfuil. Caithfimid a dhéanamh de go mbeidh Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe againn bliain i ndiaidh bliana.

At the outset, I recognise the work undertaken by Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe, as the national Irish language theatre, in promoting Irish language theatre. Since 1928, An Taibhdhearc has undertaken pioneering work which has contributed to the theatrical tradition in Ireland through the Irish language plays produced in An Taibhdhearc and throughout the country. An Taibhdhearc's fundamental objective is to develop and promote plays in Irish through the provision of a platform for new dramas produced professionally. In addition, An Taibhdhearc supports and nurtures a positive environment for the Irish language theatrical arts by providing training opportunities of the highest quality to young people in the theatre.

My Department makes an annual grant towards the running costs of An Taibhdhearc to enable it to fulfil its work programme. The grant consists of €323,920 for the current year. Following a major fire in November 2007 which seriously damaged the fabric of the theatre building itself, the management of An Taibhdhearc sought assistance from my Department with the refurbishment costs. In a letter to Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe in May 2010, my Department informed An Taibhdhearc that it was willing to grant €300,000 in principle for refurbishment works, subject to a number of conditions being fulfilled by 31 December 2010. These conditions included written confirmation from Galway City Council that it would provide co-funding of €300,000 for the project; written confirmation from An Taibhdhearc that the balance of costs would be met by An Taibhdhearc; agreement that the refurbishment of the theatre building would be an interim arrangement until the new proposed centre for the Irish language would be built in Galway city and that An Taibhdhearc would be willing to move to this centre in due course. With regard to the co-funding condition, my Department was informed in December 2010 by An Taibhdhearc that Galway City Council had approved funding of €50,000 per annum over a period of six years.

While my Department recognises the need for funding for refurbishment works at An Taibhdhearc, I wish to inform the Deputy that the capital funding available this year to my Department under the Irish language support schemes is very limited. The capital funding under this subhead consists of €100,000 for 2011. However, my Department is willing to examine the feasibility of providing some funding to An Taibhdhearc to enable it to begin to carry out the refurbishment works over a period of time. Notwithstanding this, the Deputy will appreciate that before any final decision is made, my Department will need to satisfy itself that An Taibhdhearc is in a position to carry out the refurbishment works within the resources available to it.

Molaim an Teachta as an cheist seo a thógáil ar an Athló agus geallaim dó go gcoinneoidh mé i dteagmháil leis maidir leis an cheist thábhachtach seo.

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