andMr. Ryan asked the Minister for Finance what is the estimated cost of building the Abbey Theatre; whether the total cost will be defrayed by the Government from public funds; whether the Government will be represented on the board of directors of the new theatre when it is completed; who the owners of the new theatre will be; whether the members of the new board of directors will be at liberty to sell their holdings to anyone; and if there will be any conditions laid down by the Government when they hand over the money to the Abbey Theatre Company.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Abbey Theatre.
15.
The cost of building the new Abbey Theatre is provisionally estimated at £244,000 (excluding professional fees). Under the Funds of Suitors Act, 1959, a sum not exceeding £250,000 may be made available from dormant court funds towards the cost of the theatre; this will be the limit of State assistance towards the project. The Government has the right of appointing one of the Abbey directors for so long as the annual State grant-in-aid of the expenses of the Abbey continues. The owners of the new theatre will be the National Theatre Society Ltd. As the Society is a private company, a director could not transfer his shares without the permission of the whole board of directors. In connection with the offer of State assistance for the rebuilding project a formal agreement was made in 1957 between the Minister for Finance and the National Theatre Society Ltd., under which the Society cannot, without the written consent of the Minister, dispose of the new theatre or allow it to be used for any non-theatrical purpose.
It is about time we were told that. I have been asking for it for about two years.
It is about time you asked the question.