Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Will the Minister tell us if she has taken any action regarding this area? She has indicated a lot of sympathy but what she has not indicated, in particular about the Gate Theatre, which has been a marvellous theatre in the life of the arts in Ireland with many magnificent productions to its credit, is that the board of that theatre, which commissioned the study undertaken by Ms Gaye Cunningham, is the board on which the previous director of the theatre sat. Does the Minister believe that is appropriate? She is a lawyer. Would she agree that a board so conflicted by association with the retired recent director is the proper mechanism to initiate a review, presumably to provide justice for people who were subject to appalling harassment, appalling behaviour and sexual abuse? Does she believe that is appropriate or that a more independent mechanism, as suggested by the 72 signatories of the letter, should be utilised?

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