Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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44. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the steps she will take to ensure that bodies in receipt of State funding have in place good governance structures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48144/17]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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What steps have the Minister and her officials taken to ensure that bodies in receipt of State funding have good governance in place? I ask her to make a statement on the matter.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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All bodies under the aegis of my Department are subject to the revised code of practice for the governance of State bodies which came into effect in September 2016.

The code, which is published on the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's website, sets out the respective roles of parent Departments, boards and chairs of individual bodies, and includes details of the oversight and performance delivery agreements to be entered into by both parties.

The implementation of the oversight and performance delivery agreements by individual bodies is monitored by officials of my Department who meet the individual bodies on a regular basis to review progress on performance objectives and governance matters.

All recipients of State funding, either directly from my Department or through an intermediary funding body, are also subject to the provisions of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circular 13/2014, Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer Funds, which outlines the public financial management principles, procedures and additional reporting requirements to be followed in the management of grant funding provided from public money.

In addition to the above, last week I announced a series of measures designed to support bodies in meeting their governance obligations. These include arranging training for board members and senior management staff of bodies directly reporting to my Department in the area of governance in general and on issues relating to bullying and harassment in the workplace - my Department is also working on a collaborative basis with the Arts Council to make similar training available to other cultural organisations and arts centres around the country at a series of regional information days; highlighting again to bodies reporting to the Department the nature of their legal obligations, by immediately writing to them to seek assurances of compliance with obligations under employment legislation - the Employment Equality Acts, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, and the Employment Equality Act 1998 (Code of Practice (Harassment) Order 2012; and accelerating a planned review----

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

A further measure announced is the acceleration of a planned review of compliance by bodies reporting to the Department with the requirements of the code of practice for the governance of State bodies.

I am confident these support measures will contribute to the further enhancement of existing governance structures in bodies in receipt of State funding.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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As the Minister is well aware, bullying and harassment allegations have been made against the former director of the Gate Theatre and have been widely discussed in print and broadcast media. Her Government colleagues have been at pains to emphasise that the Gate Theatre is not a State body but she and I both know it received significant funding from her Department to the tune of €860,000 in public money in 2017. Therefore, we certainly have a responsibility and a role to play in the context of this issue, given that the theatre has received that level of public funds. For example, the former director was the director of the theatre for 33 years, for more than three decades, and he was also a member of the board. Many of the board members served on the board for a long number of years alongside the director over the course of his more than three decades on the board. Many of the board members would have had a prior personal association with the former director. Does the Minister consider it is acceptable that a body in receipt of State funding would have in place such inappropriate governance structures? Will she outline her plans to review the governance structures of bodies in receipt of funding from her Department? Has she any future plans regarding the funding of agencies or organisations, such as this one, that do not have in place proper governance structures?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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With respect to the Arts Council funding of the Gate Theatre, as the Deputy will be aware, HR issues are a matter for the board of the Gate Theatre. Boards and directors of theatres and of any of the other cultural institutions must take on board their responsibilities. There are legal obligations to which they must adhere. While the Arts Council is independent in its funding decisions, I understand a number of conditions related to financial assistance being operated by the council apply to its funding recipients. These conditions include a requirement that recipients must comply with all laws applicable to the body in question, including statutory obligations under employment law, statutes, regulations and revenue requirements. In addition, recipients must avoid any form of discriminatory practice and have regard for the need to promote equal opportunities in all areas of work in compliance with the provisions of the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2011.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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As I stated when introducing the question, this is about governance structures. In the context of the overview and oversight of that from the Minister's Department, it is important that good governance structures are in place in any organisation that is in receipt of funding, be it from the Arts Council or Creative Ireland and that receipt of such funding would be contingent on having proper procedures in place. It is not acceptable for a person to be a director and a member of the board because that comprises the board. As I have stated publicly, in terms of instilling public confidence in respect of governance, there are issues with a board having a serving chief executive officer also serving as a member of the board. I hope the Minister will address that issue in the context of any plans she may have to introduce guidelines on what is and is not appropriate because it is far from appropriate to have a person serving as a director and a board member and then expect the board to investigate what has been going on internally.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I wish to clarify that there is no Creative Ireland funding. I will arrange separate dedicated workshops for board members and senior staff of bodies reporting to my Department. I am happy to expand that to arts and cultural organisations across the country. I will provide training on corporate governance with a particular emphasis on bullying and harassment. This is unacceptable behaviour. I do not want to see this happening. Nevertheless, there are huge responsibilities on people in each of those organisations. There are rules and regulations in place with which they should comply, and they should have policies and procedures in place. I want to facilitate them and to make sure they put proper structures in place. I can only encourage them. It is their decision and at the end of the day they have to do that. I want to remind them that there are legal obligations in place. I want to work with the sector so that we can stamp out this sort of behaviour. What we have been reading in the newspapers in recent weeks is awful.