I thank the Chair and wish members of the committee a good evening. As has been indicated by the Chair, my name is Lorna Lynch SC and I am appearing on behalf of the promoter.
The committee has had the opportunity to see the details that are set out in the explanatory memorandum and I do not propose to detain the members for any great length of time.
Briefly, by way of background, the committee will see that the Royal Hibernian Academy was incorporated initially by royal charter in 1823 and there was a further royal charter in 1861. Pursuant to the provisions of that charter, it provided that the RHA would consist of 30 members and that those 30 members could, in addition, appoint a number of artists, not exceeding ten, to join the RHA, and they were to be known as associates.
The purpose for the RHA is set out, that is, in summary, to cultivate and promote fine arts in the jurisdiction of Ireland.
The charter was adapted on foot of the adoption of charter order in 1940, SI 331 of 1940. There has been no amendment since then. The background to the application being made is in circumstances in which, thankfully, from the perspective of the RHA, there is a developing artistic scene and, in particular, a desire among existing members to promote and increase membership of the RHA among younger artists. That is probably a central feature of what is proposed and set out in the draft Bill, which is to increase membership from 30, as provided in the 1861 charter, to 55. It has also been set out in the explanatory memorandum that another feature of what is proposed in the Bill is to create a permanent position of keeper, which will, in addition, be referred to as one of the four, including president, treasurer and secretary. That is somebody who takes care of the works of art or property.
The balance of what is set out in the Bill is to address what I refer to as some historical matters that are still contained in the charter. To go through those in order, it proposes the removal of what has been set as a yearly value of £1,000 on the value of assets that can be purchased or given to the RHA. The draft Bill also proposes replacing one of the qualifying professions referred to in the charter as "engravers". That is to be replaced with the profession of "print-makers". That designation of print-makers would include engravers. It is a broader term so it is not a question of engravers in any way being excluded. All engravers are considered print-makers, although not all print-makers are engravers.
There are two provisions in the 1861 charter that limit the geographic area in which business can be conducted or where members can assemble to the city of Dublin or ten miles thereof. It is proposed to delete two specific references to that geographic limitation. The draft Bill also proposes replacing the quorum if the president was absent and for the purposes of electing a vice president. At the moment it is stated to be nine. It is proposed to replace that with wording that refers to "one third or more" members. If the Bill was to go through, that would allow for 55 members. If the president is absent, that reduces to 54 and it is one third of those members, being 18 or more, which would be quorate for electing a vice president.
That is the background in brief. The wording has been provided to committee members. I draw the committee's attention to one issue concerning paragraph 6 that needs to be cross-referenced with the wording of the charter. Paragraph 6, as it currently reads, refers to the charter of 1861 and refers to deletions proposed from lines 68 and 82. This relates to the deletion of a geographic limit. The relevant words are "City of Dublin or within ten miles thereof" but those nine words appear in a slightly different order in lines 68 and 82. Working off the version of the charter that committee members have, on page 12 of the printed version, about five lines from the bottom is the geographic limitation that relates to the carrying out of business. It is phrased "within the city of Dublin or ten miles thereof". Those are the nine words used. On page 13 of the charter, when it refers to where members can assemble, three lines from the bottom, there is a slightly different formulation of the nine words, namely, "In the city of Dublin or within ten miles thereof". I suggest it will be necessary to amend paragraph 6. It will be part of my presentation that it is not in any way a material amendment of any significance. It relates to a deletion. It should probably read, "The charter of 1861 shall be read and construed as if the following words were deleted therefrom, where the same appear in lines 68 and 82 thereof, that is to say, the words" and there should then be open quotes, "within the city of Dublin or ten miles thereof" and, continuing, "city of Dublin or within then miles thereof". That captures both the phrases of the geographic limitation as contained in the charter and proposes that both be deleted.
The balance of the matters set out in the Bill have been summarised in the explanatory memorandum. I do not propose to detain committee members any further unless there are particular questions or clarifications required from me at this stage.
