Liam Lawlor
Question:99 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the way in which the Arts Council can be expected to deliver on its three year Arts Plan 1995-1997 in view of the fact that its allocation in the 1996 Estimates is some £3.4 million less than envisaged in the Plan; if he will confirm that the final allocation for 1995 was more than £3 million lower than proposed in the Arts Plan; whether he will make a commitment to at least meet the 1997 Arts Plan figure of £26.1 million; whether he accepts that the shortfall in funding will almost certainly mean that it will take the Arts Council five or six years to realise the objectives in its original plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2314/96]