Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount of State funding paid to the Abbey Theatre over the past five years. [4510/13]

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will explain the relationship between the Abbey Theatre and the State in terms of ownership structures and status and financial oversight. [4509/13]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 43 together.

The Abbey Theatre/Amharclann na Mainstreach is a company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital, which was established under the Companies Act 1963. It has a board of eleven members, including the Chair. The board and the management are responsible for the day to day running of the Theatre. The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht appoints the Chair and two of the other directors. Oversight is provided by the Arts Council, which provides the annual operating grant to the Theatre, while the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General audits the financial accounts.

The Abbey Theatre's mission is to create world-class theatre that actively engages with and reflects Irish society. It seeks to achieve its mission by:

- Sustaining and re-imagining the repertoire of Irish plays;

- Presenting classic and contemporary world theatre;

- Promoting and developing the long-term success of Irish theatre;

- Touring nationally and internationally; and

- Engaging its communities in outreach and education programmes.

The combined total amount of funding provided by the Arts Council and by my Department for the years 2008 to 2012 was some €41.96m. Details of the funding are set out in the table. Of that €41.96m my Department provided €1.66m in capital funding to the Abbey Theatre for capital upgrades, equipment replacement and health and safety investments.

Since 2006, the Arts Council, as the principal provider of current State funding to the Abbey Theatre, has provided its funding via a combination of annual and three year multiannual funding agreements. Such funding is provided as a contribution towards both artistic programming costs and operating costs, such as staff and ongoing administrative expenditure. I am advised that funding is offered in response to proposals submitted by the Abbey and, once agreement has been reached on the key deliverables, the purpose for which funding is used is then monitored on an ongoing basis via regular reporting arrangements. Funding for touring production within Ireland is provided by the Arts Council, while funding for international touring is provided under my Department's Culture Ireland Programme.

TABLE: Funding to the Abbey Theatre 2008-2012