Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I direct the Deputy to section 16, which deals with the statement of strategy and which says that the National Concert Hall "shall prepare and present to the Minister, in such format as shall be approved by the Minister, a statement of strategy." Perhaps that particular phrase will alleviate the Deputy's concerns somewhat.

The Minister of the day should have a good working relationship with the various national cultural institutions. Contact and discussions are ongoing and I do not expect a situation to arise where there would not have been some discussion and agreement on the strategy statement. I am also very conscious that the statement of strategy mainly relates to artistic matters and programming. In that context, I want to respect the independence of the National Concert Hall. The National Concert Hall obtains approximately 40% of its funding from the Government and the point has been made to me very strongly that it wants to maintain its independence. It is for that reason that I cannot accept the amendment.

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