Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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226. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her plans for a full independent audit of the finances and operation of Galway 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27312/21]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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Galway 2020 meets its complete annual reporting requirements as a registered company and as a registered charity. The 2020 annual report and audited financial statements for Galway 2020 are currently in preparation and I understand that it is intended that they will be brought before the Board of Galway 2020 before the end of June. Similarly, the 2020 annual report to the Charity Regulator will be submitted in line with statutory requirements.

The Department also has in place a Performance Delivery Agreement (PDA) with Galway 2020 which sets out the roles and responsibilities of Galway 2020 and the Department, and the terms and conditions for the drawdown of funds, including the provision of quarterly management and financial reporting. All such reporting requirements are up to date.

In addition to the provisions within the PDA, Galway 2020 has in place a monitoring and evaluation framework, that is carried out by an independent arts evaluation organisation of behalf of Galway 2020. The monitoring and evaluation framework covers the results and outcomes of Galway 2020 in terms of cultural capacity developed among the artistic community, audience engagement, the social and economic impact of the overall project. It is expected that the report will be published in Q4 this year.