Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Dlí tábhachtach is ea an An Bille um Fhorais Chultúir Náisiúnta (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) (Leasú), 2022 agus tá áthas orm é a chur faoi bhráid an Tí. The purpose of the Bill before this House is to put the necessary legal framework in place to support the transfer of the National Symphony Orchestra, NSO, and choirs from RTÉ to the National Concert Hall. This legislation represents a critical step forward for the National Concert Hall as Ireland’s national cultural institution for music. It will also cement the role of the National Symphony Orchestra within that institution, formalising and enhancing the relationship that has been in place since the establishment of the concert hall.

When the National Concert Hall was officially launched by President Patrick Hillery on 9 September 1981, the symphony orchestra performed the inaugural concert with a programme that included Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and the premiere of Seóirse Bodley’s Ceol: Symphony No 3. Since that time, the NSO has been the resident orchestra at the concert hall and its Friday night concerts are an important fixture in the classical music calendar and a central pillar of the concert hall’s annual programme.

The NSO has long been a primary force in Irish musical life, with live performances of symphonic, choral and operatic music as well as popular and traditional music, new commissions, recordings and broadcasts on RTÉ and abroad through the European Broadcasting Union. The symphony orchestra has also toured widely, both nationally and internationally, to great acclaim. Despite these successes, the NSO has been faced with a number of operational challenges over the past number of years. The symphony orchestra was founded by RTÉ in 1948, at a time when there was intense demand for broadcast orchestral music. In those days, public service broadcasters tended to create their own orchestras to satisfy demand, which was more flexible and cost-effective than hiring external orchestras for recording. Since then, however, the nature of media and its consumption have been utterly transformed, which is something that I am currently addressing more broadly through the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill. With respect to the orchestra, it has become clear in recent times that it could no longer reach its full potential within the administrative and financial structures of a public service broadcaster.

In response to the challenges faced by the orchestra, RTÉ commissioned a report from consultant Helen Boaden of Mediatique, a strategic advisory firm specialising in the media and communications industries, to review its two orchestras, the NSO and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and to provide recommendations for their future structure, activities and funding. The report was published in April 2018 and its main recommendation was that the NSO should either become a national cultural institution in its own right or be positioned within the National Concert Hall, NCH, and funded directly by the Government. The report also proposed that the NSO should be restored to its historical levels of staffing and activity, to include regional performances and educational programmes. Given the vital role of the orchestra and the choirs in the Irish musical landscape, this Government has shown its commitment by working with the orchestra, the concert hall and RTÉ to effect the changes envisaged in the Boaden report and to ensure that the orchestra is supported into the future by effecting a transfer to the NCH, our national cultural institution for music.

Getting to this stage has taken significant time, resources and commitment from all involved, including the players and staff of the orchestra, the concert hall team, RTÉ and Government Departments. I would like to take a moment to reflect on the engagement, effort and vision of the individuals and bodies involved. Without that commitment, we would not find ourselves here today considering this Bill, we would not have the NSO embedded within our national cultural institution for music and we would not be looking at a bright future for the orchestra at full strength in its long-term home at the NCH.

Over the past four years, the Government has considered this matter on a number of occasions. In July 2018, following the publication of the Boaden report, the then Ministers for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Communications, Climate Action and Environment brought proposals to the Government regarding the future of the NSO. At that meeting, the Government agreed that the NSO should be brought within the concert hall’s remit and authorised the initiation of discussions on the implementation of the report’s recommendations under the aegis of an oversight group. At the same time, the Department commissioned a report that estimated the full operating costs of the orchestra to be approximately €8 million per annum.

In response, my Department immediately established the oversight group and an associated working group with RTÉ and the NCH to look at all the issues relating to the proposed transfer. These groups featured representatives from the orchestra, the choirs, RTÉ, the NCH and the unions. During the consultation process, it was agreed that the three RTÉ choirs, the RTÉ Philharmonic Choir, RTÉ Cór Linn and RTÉ Cór na nÓg, should also transfer from RTÉ to the NCH with the NSO, given the complementary and collaborative nature of their work. Along with the orchestra, the choirs are provided for in the Bill before the House today.

As part of the consultation process, the Department also engaged a financial consultant to provide one-to-one advice on pensions and benefits to all of the transferring employees. Following this extensive period of engagement, all queries relating to the employees’ terms and conditions and pension entitlements were fully addressed.

Having completed all of the consultation and preparatory work with the agreement of all of the principals involved, the Government approved the transfer of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and choirs from RTÉ to the NCH with effect from 24 January 2022. The Government also approved the drafting of the Bill before the House today to ensure a robust legislative underpinning for the concert hall incorporating the functions of the orchestra and choirs.

In tandem with the drafting of this Bill, the transfer of the NSO from RTÉ to the NCH took place on an administrative basis on 24 January of this year. This transfer was effected by contractual agreement between RTÉ and the NCH, and on the advice that sections 7 and 9 of the National Cultural Institutions (National Concert Hall) Act 2015 were broad enough to include the transfer of the NSO as part of the wider function of the NCH to promote and support the performance of music. The transfer also complied with transfer of undertakings and protection of employment, TUPE, provisions in that transferring members of the NSO and choirs were guaranteed to retain the terms and conditions they enjoyed in RTÉ.

It is not enough just to transfer the NSO to the NCH. I am committed to seeing the orchestra return to full strength and take its place at the heart of Irish music and cultural life. I want the orchestra and choirs not only to survive, but to flourish. To that end, I am pleased to inform the House that, since transferring to the concert hall, the NSO has been in the process of being restored to its full playing strength. Over the last several months, my Department has sanctioned the NCH to fill a number of vacant positions within the orchestra and choirs. This includes three section leaders, a music librarian, a principal bass trombone and a percussion section leader, all of which are permanent positions. The National Concert Hall is now in the process of recruiting for these roles, ensuring that the artistic vision for the orchestra is another step closer to being realised.

The task of restoring the NSO also necessitates investment in the orchestra's capital infrastructure. It has recently come to my attention that some of the orchestra’s musical instruments are no longer fit for purpose and require replacement. My Department is now making a substantial capital investment in the orchestra’s equipment with the purchase of a range of instruments. This investment in world-class instruments will ensure that the NSO can operate to the rigorous standards required of international orchestras.

Given the long-standing collaboration between the two, I am delighted that the choirs have joined the orchestra in transferring. The philharmonic choir has since been renamed the National Symphony Chorus in recognition of this historic relationship. This choir was established in 1985 and is made up of volunteer singers who rehearse on a weekly basis. The children’s choir, Cór na nÓg, was founded in 1987 and comprises children aged ten and older who perform on special occasions including new year's day celebrations. Cór Linn, which was formed in 2018, is made up of young singers aged 15 to 20 and serves as a bridge between the other two choirs. Cór Linn rehearses together weekly and performs a wide and varied repertoire from classical to pop. I take this opportunity to recognise the remarkable contribution of these three choirs to Irish music, much of which is undertaken on a voluntary basis. It is wonderful to see emerging musical talent being developed in such a considered way.

All of this investment is taking place within the overall redevelopment of the NCH as part of the implementation of this Government’s national development plan. With the Office of Public Works, the concert hall has developed exciting plans for the redevelopment of the Earlsfort Terrace site which I hope to bring to the Government shortly. The redevelopment plans will enable the NCH to meet the needs of 21st century performing artists and audiences. The works will include a new state-of-the-art main auditorium, world-class stage facilities for visiting musicians and resident organisations and artists, increased availability of creative spaces for the next generation of composers and musicians and new public facilities for audiences.

This journey of consultation, transfer and investment has brought us to today and the presentation of the National Cultural Institutions (National Concert Hall) (Amendment) Bill 2022 to this House. At the outset, I acknowledge the contribution of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media in its examination of the general scheme of Bill. Following meetings between my officials and the committee about the content and intention of the Bill, the committee opted not to undertake prelegislative scrutiny and, therefore, no recommendations have been made for incorporation into the Bill.

The purpose of this Bill is to update the legislation for the NCH to recognise the role and position of the NSO and choirs within the concert hall and, crucially, on its board. The Bill will bring the orchestra and choirs within the statutory framework of the concert hall and will also provide for appropriate reporting and accounting to me and onwards to the Oireachtas without impacting on their artistic freedom. The Bill also provides for the legal transfer of all undertakings related to the orchestra to the concert hall as well as amending the Broadcasting Act 2009 to reflect the transfer of the orchestra from RTÉ.

I will now introduce the specific provisions of the Bill. The Bill is divided into four parts. Part 1 deals with general provisions such as the Short Title and definitions of terms in the Bill. Part 2 provides for the transfer of functions, staff, property and liabilities relating to the orchestra and choirs from RTÉ to the NCH. These provisions date from the transfer day of 24 January 2022. This Part amends the National Cultural Institutions (National Concert Hall) Act 2015 by inserting a number of new sections into the principal Act.

Section 4 provides for the transfer of functions relating to the orchestra and choirs from RTÉ to the NCH on the transfer day. It also provides for the transfer of any administration and business in the performance of those functions. Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8 are technical in nature and provide for the transfer of all undertakings, staff, assets and liabilities relating to the orchestra and choirs to the National Concert Hall on the transfer day. Section 9 substitutes the name of the National Concert Hall for that of RTÉ in any legal proceedings relating to the orchestra or choirs while section 10 provides that every act done by RTÉ or the NCH in relation to the transfer prior to the commencement of this part shall be deemed valid and effectual for all purposes.

Part 3 of the Bill sets out a number of amendments to the principal Act to reflect the integration of the orchestra and choirs into the everyday operation of the NCH. In this regard, the critical section is section 11, which amends section 7 of the principal Act by adding a new function, "to maintain and operate an orchestra and a choir", to the functions of the concert hall.

Section 12 builds on this by including the orchestra as a core consideration in the corporate governance structures of the concert hall. It does this by amending section 10 of the principal Act to increase the membership of the board from eight members to nine. This additional board member is required in the legislation to have experience of and expertise in the development of orchestras. This provision is considered essential in ensuring that the appropriate expertise is present on the board at all times to support the work of the NSO and choirs.

Following on from the increase in board members provided for in section 12, section 13 is a technical amendment to increase the quorum for board meetings from four to five.

The final part of the Bill, Part 4, amends the functions of RTÉ as set out in section 114 of the Broadcasting Act 2009. Section 14 replaces RTÉ’s previous function to manage orchestras and choirs with the function of managing a concert orchestra only. This reflects the current situation where RTÉ retains responsibility for the National Concert Orchestra, as recommended in the Boaden report.

Although largely technical in nature, this Bill represents a very important step in the journey that the NSO, the NCH, RTÉ, myself and my colleagues have been on for the past number of years. It is the culmination of a broad commitment by everyone involved to build a stronger orchestra within a dedicated national cultural institution for music. I would particularly like to thank the staff of both RTÉ and the NCH for all their co-operation and advice in preparation for the transfer. I also welcome the orchestra and choirs as they take their place within the hall.

In some ways, the Bill represents the end of one journey with the transfer of the orchestra and choirs but it is also the first step in a much more important journey, as we turn our minds to how to build and enhance the NSO and NCH to ensure they are fit for purpose in an evolving environment and are at the heart of music in Ireland for generations to come. When President Hillery opened the NCH in 1981, he described it as "the realisation of a dream long cherished". This Bill brings that dream, shared by music and arts lovers nationwide, ever closer to reality.

These have been challenging years for music in Ireland as the pandemic severely restricted our opportunities for live performances. During this time, the NCH and NSO have worked diligently to provide online and outdoor concerts, concerts with limited capacities, and other events. Even in the darkest days of the pandemic, they kept making music for people to enjoy. This Bill, I hope, supports that instinct to keep making music for people to enjoy. Mar a dúirt an tUachtarán ag Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann i mí Iúil:

Lig dúinn ceiliúradh a dhéanamh ar cheol ... na hÉireann i ngach cruth a thagann sé, agus lig dúinn athcheangail a dhéanamh leis an gceol, agus an tábhacht atá ag baint le taispeántas beo agus muid ag ceiliúradh ár gcairdeas le chéile.

As such, I am delighted to bring this Bill before the Dáil and I look forward to hearing the contributions throughout Second Stage. I commend the Bill to the House.

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