Results 1-20 of 10,867 for speaker:Patrick O'Donovan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus le baill an choiste as an deis mo chuid cuspóirí a chur in iúl inniu mar Aire Cultúir, Cumarsáide agus Spóirt. I thank the Chairman for the good wishes he extended to both myself and the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue. Culture, connectivity, creativity, the arts, access to information, and sport play a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: Our footballers are still there as well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: All the support that is being given to the basic income for the arts scheme is really appreciated. When trying to get cross-government consensus on a particular scheme, it is heartening to see the number of Deputies and Senators who have given their support to this and for good reason. This scheme was initiated to address the precarious nature of income for people who are trying to derive...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: There are pros and cons to the existing scheme. Many people might feel they are outside the tent. We need to ensure we are fair. We also need to ensure that the duration that somebody is inside the tent is also fair so that there is a possibility for upcoming artists, young people who are emerging at the moment, to get into a new scheme. We are not there yet. At the moment we are trying...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: If I wanted to continue the existing scheme, it would be €35 million a year at the rate it is paid. If we want to be more ambitious, those are discussions we will have with the Department of public expenditure and reform over the summer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: We will need to work with the Department of public expenditure and reform bearing in mind what people typically get on social protection, which was one of the figures used when this scheme was originally identified at €325. We will need to agree a figure for the base, assuming I get a figure in the base and work backwards from that. In working backwards from that, I will consult with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: I saw some of the meeting last night. I was down in Wicklow meeting representatives of some of the film studios so I did not get a chance to see all of it. I saw the previous two meetings as well. The questions put yesterday were answered comprehensively, from what I saw. I have commissioned Professor Niamh Brennan to undertake a deep dive into the governance and culture in the Arts...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: Yes. I met with the chairman of the Arts Council the week before last and I brought up the very issue of ensuring, in return for the €141 million that is voted from the Dáil to my Department and overseen by the committee through the Estimates and the Revised Estimate, no one is left outside the tent. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí ÉIreann should not need a separate...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: I was very clear at the time we set up the investigation led by Professor Brennan that the remit would be to cover governance of the Arts Council and also culture. This is in many ways similar to the RTÉ examination. We will take the recommendations Professor Brennan makes and implement them. On the point the Deputy raised about people who feel excluded, that was a relevant issue...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: I thank Senator Noonan. I agree entirely with everything he said. I recently had cause to be in Los Angeles on a trade mission led by Screen Ireland where it was abundantly clear to me that Ireland - and Kilkenny - is highly regarded in animation. At the opening of the Ireland presence in Osaka, the Senator will be glad to know Cartoon Saloon was very much to the fore. Oona,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: I agree with the Senator. I have met with the National Museum a couple times in the recent past. There is acceptance that there is a need for a permanent solution for the storage of its materials. There are artifacts of national, international and global significance. It needs a space in which it can work. It is engaged with the OPW. It will form part of the national development plan...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: I thank the Deputy for the question. The issue with regard to the director of the Arts Council arose by virtue of the fact that her term had come to an end. We are in the middle of an investigation, as I said a while ago. We already had an internal investigation that was concluded by the Department prior to me becoming Minister. It outlined the specifics around the now ill-fated ICT...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: I did, yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: The difference is that I was faced with a situation where a person was out of contract. I cannot have a situation where an agency that answers to our Department has a director-CEO out of contract. We had to make a decision.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: I did take advice but, ultimately, the Ministers and Secretaries Act and the Constitution of Ireland make it very clear, as the Chairman will note, what the role of a Cabinet Minister is. You cannot have a CEO of a State agency out of contract, so I had a decision to make. While I do not have the Niamh Brennan report concluded, I do have an internal report concluded with regard to what the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: I listened to much of what was said last night. I do not want to pre-empt the outcome of Niamh Brennan’s report because, ultimately, Niamh Brennan will look at this in a far greater level of detail than I will be able to in an hour and a half before the committee. All of this has come to light since I became Minister. I have dealt with this in the best interests of the taxpayer...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: I thank Senator Mullen. It is not that long ago since I was a backbencher in government that, in the words of a former monarch, I was the cause of no amount of anni horribiles. I was probably one of its greatest critics. The Cathaoirleach was Minister at the time and he will remember it. We might all come from different viewpoints but I do not think what Senator Mullen is saying is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: As and from 21 July, part B of the online safety code from Coimisiún na Meán comes into effect. This has specific obligations on preventing the uploading and sharing of harmful content and services, cyberbullying and many other things. I have requested to meet the French and Danish ministers on this. France has made very strong and robust utterances recently. Denmark will have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: The full breakdown of amounts of money spent on the business transformation programme is available in the back of the report done by the Secretary General. Ergo as a programme manager received sums of €393,000, €621,000, €163,000, €231,000, €128,000 and €558,000. Codec received €1,967,278. These figures have been circulated to members by way...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport: Update on Departmental Priorities and Legislation: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (2 Jul 2025)

Patrick O'Donovan: The Arts Council notified the Department on 26 June by phone and confirmed in writing on 27 June that legal redress costs referenced at the committees covered payments and did not include outstanding work in progress to 30 May. That is where the €120,000 came from. That should have been corrected for the committee. It was by the officials from the Department. It was actually 50% of...