Vol. 565 No. 4
6 Mr. English asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if there has been a very slow draw-down of funds under the ACCESS programme administered by his Department; if he will carry out a review of the scheme to identify projects that will not proceed; if he will re-allocate the funds to other deserving projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11222/03]
Under my Department's arts and culture capital enhancement support scheme, ACCESS, grants totalling €45.7 million were approved, to be paid to 44 projects over the period from 2001 to 2004. Among the investments approved were large scale new infrastructural developments at regional, county or city levels, the redevelopment of existing facilities and venues, including new build, additional build or major refurbishment, and smaller scale projects at community or local level. Promoters of projects were required to demonstrate their ability to project manage and deliver their proposed developments, including the balance of funding needed to be raised by the promoters, within the time frame.
As I indicated in my reply to Question No. 379 on Tuesday, 25 March 2003, only €5.575 million had been drawn down at that date. This rate of draw-down is significantly lower than had been advised to my Department at the outset and I cannot provide any assurance that funding will be available beyond the end of 2004. In this respect, it must be remembered that the responsibility for management and control of projects approved for funding under ACCESS rests with the promoters, not my Department.
At present, the rate of progress of each ACCESS project is being reassessed to provide me with a comprehensive picture of where we are and how the position is likely to develop between now and the end of the scheme. When this assessment is completed I will consider what action to take. However, I would be less than honest if I did not say the prospect of funds becoming available for new projects is remote, given the time remaining for the completion of this scheme.
What is the time scale for the reassessment? I see that the cost of many of the projects has increased rapidly due to inflation. One project with which I am familiar submitted for funds. It was valued at €5 million and got a grant of €3 million. Now the cost of construction of an arts centre is €9 million. If the Minister's assessment takes a year it will be almost the end of 2004 by the time it is completed. I ask that it be carried out quickly to see what the Government can do to help people move projects forward.
A great deal of money allocated to the cultural development incentive scheme from Europe was returned because it was not claimed. We should have known that there would be problems. We should be pro-active and help groups. What are we doing to help them?
What does the Minister intend to do about money that might not be drawn down? As he said, there is no guarantee that it will be available after 2004. That is unacceptable and I ask that a guarantee be given that that money be kept for the development of capital programmes pertaining to the arts. Can it be redeployed for schemes or groups that failed to get a grant? Will the Minister allocate a larger grant to the projects whose construction costs have increased? The money is to develop facilities for young people and others of all ages. It is important that we have facilities built in all towns. It would be a big mistake to withdraw the money now.
Is the motive behind not guaranteeing that the money will be available in the future that the Minister does not want too many capital projects developed because they will have to be funded and maintained after their completion? Does it suit Government policy if some people fail to have their projects developed?
No. It would not suit Government policy if any of the projects failed. If that were the case they would not have been awarded grant aid in the first instance. The truth is that it is a matter for the project developers to come forward with their projects and ensure they are completed. It was made quite clear that the ACCESS programme would last until the end of 2004. As of now, I can give no assurance that any funding will be available after that date. It may well be true that some projects cost more than had been anticipated but neither I nor my Department can be blamed for that. Furthermore, I am not aware of any programme within my Department that led to money being sent back to Europe.
The difficulty is that quite complex issues arise in any effort to reallocate funds that are not drawn down by a projected date. Deviations of this kind are clearly more likely to arise if a project is behind schedule. If this is the case, it is possible that it might not proceed at all because it might not be in a position to draw down the funds before the termination of the scheme. Then a reallocation of the same funds could not, in all probability, be drawn down for precisely the same reason. If another project was grant-aided now, there simply would not be time to complete the project.
We have the same problem in relation to any new projects which might be funded as we have with old projects which could not proceed for one reason or another, and the time factor is all important. This is the difficulty we face. I am obviously only too glad to make payments to projects which make progress. We are only too delighted to spend this money. The difficulty is that the projects promoted in many instances are beginning to look as if they will not make the cut.
Does the Minister not feel it would be worthwhile to try to safeguard this money and guarantee that it will be available if it is not drawn down? Would he not fight to get that done? If the Minister was told tomorrow that a certain project could not manage to carry out its development, would he not seek to reallocate that money straight away to a project that could?
It is too late to make a new allocation at this point because a project would not be completed by the end of 2004. That is the opinion within the Department also. It is desirable to try to hold on to as many funds as we possible can, and I will certainly be only too delighted to do so, but I am not at all sure that it will be possible to do that because a specific time frame was laid down for the scheme. I fully support the concept of providing arts centres around the country. This was the whole idea of what was a wonderful scheme set up by my predecessor, Deputy Síle de Valera, and she is to be warmly congratulated on it. The difficulty is that, as with many projects of this nature, people may in some instances, not all, have been a little over-ambitious.
