David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and I welcome the Bill generally although I have some reservations about it. It gives a sense of recognition to the National Concert Hall. The National Concert Hall is a source of pride for everybody. I am old enough to remember the debates that took place before it was decided to develop Earlsfort Terrace. They were going to build a completely new concert hall on Northumberland Road. Eventually it settled on Earlsfort Terrace and I am glad that it did. I have been there many times and the variety, to which tribute has been paid already, is quite astonishing. I was there for the New Orleans jazz from the Preservation Hall Jazz Band where at the end they did a funeral march and led the entire audience out onto Earlsfort Terrace and back into the hall in a conga line. It was wonderful. I have been there for Rachmaninoff's piano concertos and for the magisterial series of Beethoven's piano concertos given by that great artist, John O'Conor. I have also performed there myself. I was on stage with Anne Bushnell. I took part in her wonderful Judy Garland show. I wonder if I am gay at all because I had never heard of Judy Garland until I did that show. I have also compèred concerts there. It is a wonderful facility of which everyone should be proud. I was interested in the positive numbers presented by the Minister. It is very like the James Joyce Centre and I look forward to seeing the Minister there once again. Our figures are equally good. We have made remarkable progress in developing that and we also generate twice as much income as we receive from the State. We are grateful for what we get from the State.

I have a number of queries on the Bill which I read with great interest. The first is on section 5 which says "the National Concert Hall (in this Act referred to as the 'NCH'), situated, for the time being". That is a curious phrase; it is as if perhaps they were going to take up Senator O'Keeffe's suggestion that it be transferred to Sligo brick by brick.