Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the arm's-length principle in terms of the Arts Council in that the Minister cannot get involved in its day-to-day running. However, the whole thing was shambolic because the emails that went out immediately were incorrect in some cases. They were sent after the original error. One said an applicant was rejected for a different bursary award and then another said the council hoped the applicant would not be discouraged from applying for the scheme in future, despite 2023 supposedly being its last year. It seems to have been a comedy of errors rather than just one issue. People welcomed the personal apology from the director of the council a few days later after the media attention concentrated on this, but one artist concluded, "This single ordeal brings into question the veracity and competency of the Arts Council as well as raising a doubt in their genuine interest to treat all artists appropriately". I hope we have learned lessons from this, that the Arts Council learns from this and that it will fully engage with the artists who had their hopes built up and then dashed so cruelly only a few days ago.

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