Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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137. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his Department has conducted any value-for-money analysis of its spending on Galway 2020; if a breakdown is available on the way in which the €15 million spent by his Department on Galway 2020 was spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34052/25]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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One of my biggest frustrations and that of Aontú, in this Dáil and the previous one, is the waste of taxpayers' money and the lack of proper investigations and accountability. The Galway 2020 situation is an example of that. The difficulty with regard to waste is that it often becomes a crisis for a couple of weeks until the media cycle moves on and people forget about it. In the context of Exchequer funding to Galway 2020 and the Government’s decision for that not to exceed 50%, the Comptroller and Auditor General stated that the decision was not adhered to and that funding went far beyond that. He also said the disclosure of information was not forthcoming. Has there been a proper investigation into what happened with Galway 2020?

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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Galway’s designation as European Capital of Culture 2020 provided an opportunity to promote the city’s culture nationally and internationally. The Government allocated €15 million in two stages, with €14 million allocated to deliver the cultural programme of Galway European Capital of Culture and €1 million allocated for its legacy programme.

The drawdown of €14 million allocated to deliver the cultural programme was completed in November 2020. In line with the programme delivery agreements with the Department, quarterly management and independent auditor reports were received from Galway 2020. The independent auditor confirmed that Galway 2020 followed best practice in transparency, accountability and secured value for money.

In line with the requirements of the European Parliament and Council, every capital of culture is required to have an external and independent evaluation of its programme. This found that Galway 2020 had fulfilled its ambition as set out in its bid book and achieved the general and specific objectives of a European Capital of Culture and the operational objectives relevant to individual European capitals of culture.

An analysis by the independent evaluator demonstrated that the €14 million investment helped provide employment to 894 artists and cultural workers. Cultural projects delivered more than 1,200 events to the public through a combination of physical and online delivery across all art forms, the majority of which were free.

The final payment of €1 million under the legacy programme was made to Galway Culture Company in July 2024. The agreement between the Department and Galway Culture Company required an external evaluation of the programme and an independent auditor’s review, as well as regular monitoring meetings. Key performance indicators and drawdown requirements were also set out for the programme. I recently received the final reporting on the legacy programme. I welcome the analysis by the independent evaluators, The Audience Agency, that Galway Culture Company delivered a successful programme using a budget of €1 million in an effective and efficient way, demonstrating transparency in the way this had been administered and meeting its obligations as stated in the performance delivery agreement with the Department.

I will give more information in my next response.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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I thank the Minister. The independent auditor and its outcomes are in direct contradiction to the Comptroller and Auditor General. The project had received more than €20 million in State funding by 2023. The Minister's Department provided approximately €15 million; Galway City Council provided €3.7 million; Galway County Council provided €2.6 million; and the EU provided €1.5 million. The outcome of that was a number of resignations. Several resignations happened and people took cases to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC.

There is no doubt that Galway is a fantastic city and that much of the money did good work to support local artists. Bad luck with weather and Covid-19 played a role in what happened to Galway 2020. Nevertheless, many people are not satisfied with the value-for-money aspect of the programme and that the Comptroller and Auditor General's questions are still outstanding. Does the Minister not have a concern about that?

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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To finish my earlier response, the analysis of spending found that the €1 million budget had been allocated under the following strategic objectives: €191,920 to facilitate international and EU relationships and funding; €537,413 to support place-based cultural programming; and €270,668 in supports to the cultural and creative sector. Galway 2020 was delivered in the most efficient circumstances during the height of Covid-19. While this necessitated a complete re-engineering of the year, the Department is satisfied that its funding was applied appropriately.

The Deputy is right that there was an unfortunate sequence of events with weather, Covid-19 and everything else. I think the earlier part of my response, which outlined the independent evaluation and the audit trail in place for moneys expended by my Department, was clear.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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It would be unfortunate if we were to insulate the expenditure from the Minister's Department from all of the other expenditure that came from this. A representative of Aontú in the area, Luke Silke, has done significant work on this matter. A large amount of money was spent. Taxpayers have had to fork out for this, even in the years subsequent to 2020. People were still paying for this in 2023. As soon as the Minister started his job, he came across the crisis in the Arts Council with the IT system that never functioned. Privately, he probably shares the same concerns as me around value for money and the waste that is happening in these spaces.

My appeal to the Minister is for him to leave a legacy on this, so that there is full accountability for waste that happens. Full accountability means that there is a cost to the individuals who are not protecting the public purse. If we do not have this cost, we are cursed to wake up to see these same stories repeat themselves.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is right in respect of what I did on assuming the office of Minister with responsibility for culture, communications and sport. I became aware of a substantial problem in the Department and a legacy problem in the Arts Council. I have dealt with this in a manner that I believe to be proportionate and responsible in the sense that I have asked Professor Niamh Brennan, in the first instance, to carry out a complete overhaul examination of the culture, organisation and corporate governance in the Arts Council. I have made the commitment that any recommendations from this will be implemented. I have also asked the IPA to look at my Department because I have said on the record in the Dáil that I am not satisfied with the manner in which the Department dealt with it. Regarding Galway 2020, I can only answer here for the Department. I cannot answer for Galway City Council or Galway County Council. I have previously expressed views regarding the role of the Comptroller and Auditor General in respect of local authorities. I believe that would be an appropriate way to leverage this.