Vol. 588 No. 4
5 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his views on whether the €89 million net outflow of expenditure in the January to March 2004 travel period represents a worrying trend for the Irish tourism sector in view of the huge coverage given to Ireland by the EU Presidency; and the steps that are being taken to ensure that this outflow does not increase further. [19748/04]
33 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism his views on whether the April 2004 overseas travel figures from the Central Statistics Office suggest that a gap is widening between persons who are leaving Ireland to go abroad when compared with the relatively smaller increase in visitors to Ireland; and the remedy he will put in place to address the issue. [19746/04]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 33 together.
I refer Deputies Boyle and Cuffe to my earlier answer to Question No. 3, which addressed the same topic.
The Minister answered two questions. In his reply to my last question, he referred to the issue of public transport. I would like to go into this in more detail. When tourists arrive here is it not the case that many of them do not opt for car hire but depend on public transport to travel around the country? This applies not only to overseas tourists but to those of us who want to travel around Ireland and have to do so on public transport. The state of our public transport is a major factor. Will the Minister agree that investing in public transport is not only good for the country in terms of facilitating proper decentralisation as opposed to relocation, but it is also important for our tourism market?
Will the Minister stress to the Minister for Transport the importance of the need to get this right? If the Minister travels abroad to Italy or France, he will find state-of-the-art transport services. He could board a train and travel from A to B relatively quickly, on time and in comfort, yet in this country that is not possible. If one tries to have a meal on one of our trains, it is an awful experience. This is an area the Minister ought to examine if we are to attract growing numbers to this country. May I have a more detailed response from the Minister on this issue?
The replies to Deputy Gormley's interesting questions are more appropriate to the Minister for Transport. In general terms, the question of access to the regions is of immense importance, in particular if we are to see a greater degree of regionalisation of the tourism industry. In that context, improving the service, the rolling stock and rail links is of immense importance. We have seen benefits from the regional airports and their development is providing rich dividends to the regions. For example, developments at Knock, Galway, Kerry and other airports are proving to be extremely beneficial. However, about 350,000 cars are rented every year by visitors to this country. Therefore, the private car market should not be underestimated in any way. However, I take the Deputy's point that it is important we continue to improve public transport.
To some extent Question No. 10 is related to these questions. Ireland received considerable exposure, as indicated in Question No. 5, during our Presidency of the EU, but that does not seem to be having a positive impact on our tourism industry. What initiatives to address this did the Minister raise with his European counterparts during our Presidency? Is the Minister at liberty to inform us of what was discussed or to outline how our Presidency of the Union during the past six months benefited Irish tourism?
There is a detailed question, Question No. 10, on this matter which I think we will reach. It might be fairer and more expansive for the Deputy if we concentrated on this issue at that point.
Is the Deputy prepared to wait until we reach that question?
Yes, that is fair enough.
6 Mr. Connolly asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the annual levels of expenditure in counties Cavan and Monaghan, respectively, from the national lottery; the levels of lottery-funded grant aid disbursed annually; the amounts of this funding returned to counties Cavan and Monaghan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19719/04]
In regard to the disbursement of national lottery funding, my Department administers the lottery-funded sports capital programme, which provides facilities for sporting and for voluntary and community organisations at local, regional and national level throughout the country. The programme is advertised on an annual basis.
I am providing in tabular format grant allocations since 1988 to counties Cavan and Monaghan under the programme. The vast majority of the overall funding since its inception has been allocated since 1999 and, as I relayed to the Deputy in my reply to his Priority Question No. 31 on 25 May last, the allocations to Cavan and Monaghan are in line with what those counties might expect if funding were strictly on a per capita basis.
In regard to the 2004 sports capital programme, on 7 May last I announced funding allocations totalling €50.8 million to 717 projects, including €925,000 to 14 projects in County Cavan and €996,000 to 17 projects in County Monaghan. In addition to this, my colleague, the Minister for Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, recently announced top-up funding to some of those projects which I funded under the 2004 sports capital programme, specifically those located in CLÁR areas and those in RAPID areas which were endorsed by their local RAPID area implementation teams. A further €108,000 has been allocated to Cavan and €24,000 to Monaghan through these top-ups.
Overall, I am satisfied that counties Cavan and Monaghan have been treated fairly and adequately in the levels of national lottery funding disbursed through the sports capital programme, funding which has made a major difference to the range and quality of the sports facilities in those counties and in every other county in Ireland.
|
1988 |
1989 |
1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
|
|
Cavan |
118,086 |
0 |
6,349 |
12,697 |
0 |
0 |
347,908 |
25,395 |
27,934 |
168,875 |
|
Monaghan |
222,204 |
330,132 |
12,697 |
76,184 |
0 |
0 |
326,323 |
24,125 |
29,204 |
241,250 |
|
Total |
21,379,849 |
1,737,002 |
2,161,094 |
1,943,829 |
1,676,689 |
5,721,440 |
13,963,310 |
3,685,414 |
9,084,976 |
11,829,514 |
|
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
Total |
|
|
Cavan |
121,895 |
333,941 |
452,027 |
591,698 |
691,200 |
580,000 |
925,000 |
3,478,005 |
|
Monaghan |
83,803 |
248,869 |
502,181 |
615,823 |
1,233,000 |
485,000 |
996,000 |
4,430,795 |
|
Total |
7,554,942 |
25,382,064 |
45,496,874 |
56,179,561 |
78,779,400 |
53,352,500 |
50,800,000 |
390,728,458 |
Does the Minister agree that questions like this will continue to appear on the Order Paper until an audit is carried out of all facilities throughout the country to determine the need and identify the black spots to ensure that national lottery funding can be targeted at those areas of greatest need? As a Kerry person, I recognise and continue to welcome the increased allocations to the county since the Minister took office. Prior to that, Donegal benefited considerably. I am sure we understand that from the perspective of Deputies Connolly and others it appears that counties like Cavan and Monaghan are not getting a fair share of such funding. There is a later question on a national audit. When does the Minister consider a national audit will commence? Will it commence in the near future? When Fine Gael gets back into power with our Labour colleagues, we will be very much directed and influenced by the findings of such a national audit and we will invest such money in areas of greatest need and where there is a lack of facilities. That is the way to go in the future.
Counties Cavan and Monaghan have certainly not been ignored by the Government. I suppose it is easy to zone in on one area and forget others. I have already said that the sports capital programme has been kind to counties Cavan and Monaghan. I have visited both counties on a number of occasions to see developments there which are progressing well. I recently sanctioned the construction of a new swimming pool in Monaghan town. My Department was also responsible for sanctioning funds under the ACCESS programme for an arts centre in Carrickmacross. There have been a number of other developments in Cavan and Monaghan under the aegis of my Department. It must be said that my Department does not have a large budget but, in so far as I was in a position to assist Cavan and Monaghan, I certainly did so.
On the audit of national lottery funding, I am satisfied to proceed with it where the sports capital programme is concerned. In that respect, an expenditure review is under way. I hope this will be completed shortly and that we will then proceed to carry out the audit and put in place a strategic plan to map out the way forward. I suppose Deputy Deenihan would not mind calling for a national audit of expenditure in every Department.
Absolutely.
Have many applicants for national lottery funding, not specifically those in Cavan and Monaghan, failed to draw down funding they were allocated? What mechanism is in place to ensure that, in such instances, there is an investigation into the reasons for not drawing down funding? What can be done where people may have problems generating the extra funds required or where they simply do not draw down the funding?
There have been several instances where funding was not drawn down. Figures released on the day of the sports capital programme announcement may look great on paper but the reality is that some organisations never get around to drawing down the funds.
There are misconceptions regarding the sports capital programme. One glaring misconception is that grants, once announced, will be paid regardless of whether the necessary criteria are met. This is not the position. Irrespective of how a decision on a grant is arrived at, the payment can never take place unless the criteria to which the grant is subject are complied with. These criteria involve issues such as matching funds, planning permission, where appropriate, foreshore licences and by-laws.
Unfortunately, several instances arise in which the criteria are not fulfilled and therefore the grants are not paid. On occasion, we have written to various clubs and organisations to state we were subjecting them to a sunset clause whereby we would have to say goodbye to them if they did not take up their grants by 31 December. In such cases, the clubs or organisations suddenly become more active than they were previously and one finds that, in some instances, they then fulfil the criteria. However, as I stated, there are instances in which the criteria are never fulfilled. However, it must be remembered that most of the organisations and clubs with which we are dealing are voluntary and it is perfectly understandable therefore why documentation, etc. may not be forthcoming. In general, most clubs do everything they can to comply with the criteria.
Are they given every opportunity?
They are given every opportunity.
Would it be in order for a club purchasing equipment to change its mind and opt for a different model or type of equipment if it were the same price?
If a club has been allocated funding, it is open to the club to apply to the Department and provide a valid reason it wishes to change direction regarding that funding. The Department and I are as flexible as we possibly can.
7 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he will consult the Department of Education and Science with a view to making the proposed and long-delayed nationwide sports facilities audit include facilities which are operated by or are available to schools, in light of the significant increase in obesity and recognised lack of sports facilities for schools, as revealed in a recent INTO survey. [19754/04]
34 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism when the national audit of local sports facilities will commence to ensure a more effective targeting of new facilities at locations at which they are needed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19742/04]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 34 together.
It is my intention that the proposed national audit of local sports facilities be carried out in conjunction with the development of a sports facilities strategy. As the Deputy will appreciate, completion of a review of the sports capital programme is a necessary precursor to the development of overall strategy in this area. As this review is now in its final stages, I intend to set up an inter-agency steering group to oversee the project.
One of the immediate tasks for this group will be to oversee the commencement of the national audit of local sports facilities. Part of this work will be to decide on the type and location of facilities to be included as part of the scope of such an audit. It will be a matter for this group when established to decide on the scope in light of all the requirements set out.
It is worth noting that the Irish Sports Council's most recent statement of strategy, recognising the need to engage young people in sporting activity, sets out as one of the key objectives the need to increase opportunities to participate in sport at local level, particularly for school-aged children. Last month, I launched the Irish Sports Council's Buntús programme, a national initiative targeting primary schools designed to give children a fun, but high-quality, introduction to sport.
I have no doubt that the facility needs to cater for school-aged children will comprise one of the key issues to be considered in the sports facilities strategy, the development of which will heavily influence the scope and requirements of the national audit of sports facilities.
Question No. 7 makes reference to the significant increase in obesity. Clearly, an approach similar to the inter-agency one is required to tackle this problem. Bearing in mind that yesterday was the deadline for submissions to the Department of Health and Children on this worsening problem, does the Minister agree that if we are to deal with it, we must make children play more sport at school? Is it the case that it is not just a question of facilities but also of attitude in that we must change the attitude to sport so it will not be regarded as a waste of time in schools? Perhaps our approach has focused too much on competition. Those who are good at sports are allowed to participate in them and are provided with the necessary facilities while the rest are simply not encouraged to do so. Is it the Minister's intention to again require the participation of all in sport?
There are more than encouraging signs to the effect that we are treating sport more seriously. The funding available for sport has increased significantly to €110 million from a base of €17 million which obtained when the issue of sport was on the Cabinet table in 1997. There has also been tremendous expenditure under the sports capital programme. There has been expenditure of €370 million on 3,500 different projects since 1998. However, there is still a long way to go. Facilities at national school level, for example, leave a lot to be desired in many cases. The construction of physical education halls is a matter of urgency in many cases, particularly in the context of the new physical education curriculum in national schools.
It is important for us to recognise that resources only stretch so far and that where there is a choice between providing a PE hall and a classroom, the classroom will be chosen. However, my Department has shown a willingness to become involved in joint ventures with the Department of Education and Science to constructing PE halls, for example, whereby the community can utilise the halls when the school is not doing so. We might usefully progress this initiative in the context of the audit of sports facilities in recent years and the strategic plan that we will develop.
We have made progress but, in truth, we still have a long way to go to deal with the issue of obesity, take children away from their Playstations and put them on the playing fields.
While I agree with the Minister that funding for sport has been increased, I do not believe it has been directed at physical education at both primary and secondary levels. In 1991, I carried out a national survey of all primary and post-primary schools in the country. I discovered that 75% of primary schools in Kerry, for example, had no PE hall. A recent survey by the INTO confirmed that 70% of schools did not have PE facilities, so matters have not improved in the last 13 years. Most of the PE halls in schools in Kerry have been converted into classrooms and schools do not have the facilities to put the new PE curriculum in place. In addition, teachers do not feel confident to take on the new curriculum. Inservice courses of two or three days will not provide this confidence. We have a major problem in our primary and post-primary schools.
We are sitting on a medical timebomb. Some years ago, when I forecast that we would have a major obesity problem I was accused of exaggeration. It is now obvious that we have such a problem. Young people are now less fit and less active than they were ten years ago.
There will have to be a major refocus on how national lottery money is spent. A community which is prepared to provide a sports facility on school grounds, whether primary or secondary, should be given preference. Such a facility could be used by the school during the day and by the community during the evening. Time constraints and weather make it impractical for a teacher to walk children to a sports facility half a mile or a mile away from a school. In future, when money is being provided for sports facilities, preference should be given to communities, clubs and organisations which are prepared to build facilities on or adjacent to school grounds. That would be a good start but it is not happening.
Since 1998, more than 3,500 projects in every city, village and parish in the country have seen development and almost €270 million has been spent.
It was mostly spent on competitive sport.
If one adds the amount allocated under the swimming pool programme the total comes to €350 million since 1997. It is not an insignificant sum. In fact, it is the first serious expenditure on sports facilities in the country. I accept that we have a long way to go. I am under no illusion about the fact that facilities in schools are, for the most part, inadequate. This is particularly the case in primary schools. However, we are trying to build up the base and we have made a considerable amount of progress in a very short space of time.
The facilities I have mentioned are, for the most part, utilised by schools and the volunteers in the clubs and organisations concerned encourage participation by schools. We always look benevolently on applications which would result in schools and the community benefiting from sports facilities. Resources are finite. Under the sports capital programme, the amount available in any given year rarely exceeds €22 million. That is a vast increase on what was available, even seven or eight years ago when very little was available.
I would welcome this audit and the sooner it is done, the better. I acknowledge that considerable funds have been provided through the national lottery for sports facilities and that this matter is not entirely the problem of the Department. Nevertheless, lottery funds have been spent in areas which have major social problems but no link appears to have been made between providing sports facilities and helping those communities. It is imperative that an audit be done as soon as possible.
I do not know the solution to this problem. I am familiar with the application forms for lottery funding and I know they take account of various aspects of social inclusion and so on. Nevertheless, communities which experience social exclusion are often not involved in the provision of lottery funded sports facilities. The proposed audit will show up these black spots.
Deputy Wall is right. There are, unquestionably, blackspots throughout the country and in disadvantaged areas. In that respect, we have tried to prioritise such areas through the RAPID and CLÁR programmes. We have seen considerable developments in recent times, not least in the Acting Chairman's own constituency, in areas which might be described as vulnerable or disadvantaged. Participation rates in the areas concerned where we have seen these developments have been quite high. The Government is committed to continuing to invest in areas of disadvantage in order to build up the necessary facilities, because there are gaps.
We have only begun to take sport seriously. We did not have a Cabinet Minister for sport until 1997, we had no statutory Sports Council until a few years ago and we had no proper sports capital programme until 1998. In 1997, our budget for sport was €17 million while today it is €110 million. We had no budget for a sports council but the Sports Council's budget is now €30 million. We had no programme for elite athletes and we now have a carding system. We had no measurements for high performance athletes and we now have. Sam Lynch, the oarsman, has said that while a few years ago his biggest worry was how he would pay his hotel bill, he can now worry about rowing. Our sports men and women now know that the Government and people are behind them.
It is true that there are huge gaps and that we have a long way to go. If we all recognise that, Government and Opposition can work together to build up facilities with a view to ensuring greater participation, that more women become involved in sport, that more young people come away from the Playstations and onto the playing fields and that we have a healthy sporting society. Sport is endemic in Ireland. We are all interested in it but we did not invest sufficiently in sport for the simple reason that we did not have the resources to do so. Now we have more resources and we will treat it more seriously. That is true of every party in the House.
8 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the position with regard to the redevelopment of the Abbey Theatre; if redeveloping the theatre on its current site remains his preferred option; if an announcement on the future of the Abbey Theatre will be made prior to December 2004, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Abbey; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19727/04]
19 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress made with regard to the provision of a new building for the Abbey Theatre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19702/04]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 19 together.
I refer the Deputies to my earlier reply to today's Priority Question No. 1.
I welcome the Minister's earlier assurance that the new Abbey Theatre building will be in the city. None of us could envisage the Abbey Theatre being anywhere else. If the Carlton Cinema site is not available it is important that the theatre remain within the boundaries of the city.
9 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the results to date of the cultural relations committee funding supporting Irish artists working abroad; if these proposals have been successful; if he, on the recommendation of the CRC, will continue such funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19736/04]
With effect from January 2002 responsibility for the cultural relations committee transferred from the Department of Foreign Affairs to the then Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht, and the Islands. It is now, of course, under the aegis of my Department.
Since its establishment in 1949, it has advised on support for cultural projects with a view to enhancing Ireland's image and reputation abroad and promoting friendly relations and a mutual knowledge and understanding with other countries. The CRC has played a vital role in promoting Irish arts and artists internationally.
In the context of my statutory responsibility under the Arts Act 2003 to promote the arts both inside and outside the State, I am in the process of reviewing the mechanisms and the basis of funding used to promote and support Irish arts internationally with a view to formulating a new strategic approach that will galvanise Irish arts in an international context, and is flexible, responsive, and efficient enough to meet the needs of today's fast moving world. Proper promotion of arts and culture can make a positive contribution to enhancing Ireland's image abroad, and our relationships with other peoples and with key people in other countries. Such promotion also helps to protect cultural diversity and cultural identity in the context of globalisation. The arts must also be promoted internationally for their own sake. Irish artists can, by performing and exhibiting abroad, develop and enhance their artistic talents, find new markets for their work and open doors for other Irish artists who may follow later.
What is the timescale for the proposals the Minister will make and what part will the CRC play? Artists have benefited from its involvement in the past. Is demand for this funding increasing and is there a worldwide scene for Irish artists? What types of artists are involved or does the CRC receive applications from all disciplines?
The term of the office of the current Cultural Relations Committee was to expire earlier this year but we extended it until the end of 2004. The issue is how we will proceed from here. It is important to recognise that the Arts Act 2003 provides for the first time for a role for the Minister in the promotion of Irish arts on the international stage. Whatever mechanism we use when replacing the Cultural Relations Committee, we will ensure that it is in a position to use the resources available to promote Irish arts.
Traditionally, the committee was a branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs and was used to build good relations with other countries. Now the remit will be much broader because it relates to the effective co-ordination between my Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the new committee. I hope the new mechanism will be up and running later this year when the CRC's remit will finish and that it will be an innovative and invigorating body which will be a success in assisting me, as Minister, to promote Irish arts on the international stage.
How many artists are supported by the Cultural Relations Committee? The question related to the support of Irish artists working abroad but there are also Irish students studying abroad who are finding it difficult to cover the costs of fees and maintenance. Will the fund be extended to include them?
My Department has commissioned a report on the way forward and I hope we can discuss it in the near future. I do not have the exact number of artists who have been assisted by the Cultural Relations Committee but the allocation this year by the committee amounts to €700,000. It has helped artists in theatre and dance, film, music, visual arts, literature and the Imagining Ireland conference. I hope the new body will be in a position to allocate substantially more but one never knows.
10 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the matters that he has pursued with his European Union counterparts during Ireland’s Presidency of the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19713/04]
Across my portfolio, a wide variety of events and initiatives was organised and advanced as part of my Department's Presidency programme.
In the face of the common challenges facing the tourism sector across Europe, I requested Fáilte Ireland to organise a major international conference on tourism as the centrepiece of Ireland's tourism programme for the Presidency. The event, entitled "Charting Tourism Success", was held in Dublin Castle and was very well attended by policy makers and industry practitioners across Europe. A diverse panel of distinguished speakers provided valuable insights and set out some fresh ideas on how to meet the challenges facing the sector.
In the sports field, Ireland successfully launched the European Year of Education through Sport and has worked closely with the Commission and other member states in establishing a clearer framework for subsequent Presidencies initiating action in the sports arena.
A meeting of Troika Sports Ministers, as well as a joint meeting of Sport and Education Ministers, was held in January. Matters addressed included the need to promote the educational and social values of sport; developing a better partnership between the worlds of school and sport; sport as an instrument in improving multi-cultural dialogue and in promoting peace; and the key role of sport in the area of cardiovascular health and combating obesity, especially among children.
On the arts and culture front, three separate events were held in Ireland with the aim of enhancing European co-operation in the field of culture, particularly in the area of linguistic diversity, music and the digitisation of cultural content. The feedback from those who attended these events has been very positive and I am confident they will lead to greater mutual understanding and co-operation among the 25 member states. The digitisation conference which I opened in Dublin Castle on Tuesday was one of the final events of the Presidency.
In terms of advancing the agenda on cultural co-operation at European level, the Irish Presidency achieved progress in a number of areas, including securing consensus on a Community action programme to promote bodies active in the field of culture at European level; securing decisions on the extension of the Culture 2000 and media programmes to the end of 2006 which will allow the necessary time to debate and achieve consensus on the next generation of programmes in this field; securing political agreement to the continuation of the EU involvement with the European Audiovisual Observatory; securing political agreement on a proposal to allow new member states to participate in European Capitals of Culture programme; and securing agreement on the designation of the cities of Luxembourg and Sibiu for the European Capital of Culture event 2007 and the cities of Liverpool and Stavanger for the European Capital of Culture event 2008.
In more general terms, Ireland's Presidency of the EU has proven to be an invaluable opportunity to showcase all that is best about our country. In this regard, an extensive cultural programme was organised and supported by my Department which has encompassed a variety of cultural links, tours and exchanges between Irish artists, Irish festivals and artists from the new member states. The centrepiece of this programme was the "Day of Welcomes" on 1 May to celebrate the historic enlargement of the Union. This day long carnival involving towns and cities across Ireland proved an enormous success both locally and internationally and was an outstanding tribute to the generosity and warmth of the Irish welcome. In terms of building goodwill throughout Europe, particularly in the new member states, it was an overwhelming success.
Obviously, such positive images of Ireland and the Irish people in celebratory mood, which were broadcast throughout Europe and the world over the May weekend, provided a major boost to our image as a tourism destination. Almost 1,000 journalists, radio and TV crews from across the world were in Ireland for the weekend and television coverage of the events was beamed into more than a billion homes worldwide.
The cultural programme's tours to and from the new member states continued right until the end of the Presidency. These events have proven particularly successful in building strong ties with our new EU neighbours which will serve us very well at the enlarged negotiating table.
I thank the Minister for his comprehensive answer. It was like "This Is Your Life" for the past six months. Did the association between alcohol and sports sponsorship arise during any conversations? The Minister outlined the benefits of sport, one which is that it acts as a deterrent with regard to alcohol and drugs. Do our colleagues in Europe share the view that the association of sport with alcohol in advertising is a problem?
A Troika meeting was held which was extremely useful in terms of advancing the cause of sport in the European Union. The new treaty, which was successfully negotiated by the Taoiseach and his team, has provided for sport for the very first time. The question of alcohol and sport is something, which obviously needs to be addressed as does the question of alcohol and drugs. I have often said that no sport is the enemy of any other sport but sport has enough enemies, including alcohol and drugs. In that context, the European year of education through sport can be of immense importance since for the first time, meetings of sports Ministers will be on a formal basis under the new treaty. We should be in a position to advance sport and take on the enemies I have described.
We did not set out specific measures or discuss specific ways to tackle alcohol, however the underlying trend or objective is to use sport to tackle such issues.
11 Mr. O’Dowd asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the proposals to improve the accommodation available to the National Concert Hall; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19704/04]
I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 59 of 25 May 2004.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
