Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if additional capital funding will be allocated to the national theatre for its redevelopment on Eden Quay, Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42023/12]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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The long-term location of the Abbey Theatre is now settled. The Abbey Street location is now, and will be for the future, the home of the National Theatre. I welcome the acquisition of property beside the existing theatre building as a clear road map for the future and believe that the fundraising focus of the Abbey must now be on delivering the maximum amount of private support possible to allow for development to take place on this site over time. That fundraising challenge cannot be underestimated. I was pleased to be able to allocate some additional capital resources for the Abbey this year to help deal with an asbestos issue at the building, but in the time ahead the level of taxpayer resources that are available will – as is the case with all institutions - be under very serious pressure and it is clear that alternative funding for projects such as this will need to be sourced.