Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 June 2021
106. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the person or body who was appointed to adjudicate on applications for the 2021 instalment of the live performance support scheme; the way the panel was selected; and the measures that were put in place to ensure there would be no conflict of interest between those adjudicating on funding awards and those receiving said awards. [33623/21]
View answer107. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the reason a live performance support scheme application by a company (details supplied) was rejected; and the way the company can appeal this decision. [33630/21]
View answer111. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the decision makers who issue grants and funding to organisations (details supplied); and the reason a company that has contributed to the economy on a large scale in such a short period of time has been declined the opportunity to recover. [33650/21]
View answer112. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the reason an application for the live performance support scheme by a company (details supplied) was rejected; and the way that the company can appeal this decision. [33651/21]
View answer116. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the number of applicants per county to the live performance support scheme in tabular form. [33947/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 106, 107, 111, 112 and 116 together.
I allocated €50 million in 2021 to a suite of measures to assist the arts and culture sector. As part of that funding, on Tuesday June 15th I announced the allocations for the €25m Live Performance Support Scheme (LPSS 2021). All allocations of funding for arts, culture and entertainment purposes made by my Department are subject to approval by me as Minister.
I was delighted to be in a position to fund 237 successful applications under this scheme, the details of which are available on my Department’s website. There was a very high level of interest in this scheme, with over 400 applications requesting funding in excess of €80 million. Given the available funding of €25 million, difficult decisions had to be made and it was not be possible to award grants to everyone who applied. The 237 grants awarded will help support employment and well-being opportunities across all genres and the continued production of high quality artistic output for the public.
All applications were referred to an Evaluation Panel for assessment and recommendations for allocations which were then subject to approval. The Evaluation Panel consisted of five members, independent from the administration area running the scheme. Along with two department representatives, the external members were as follows; Mr. Gary Sheehan, Head of Programme Planning at the National Concert Hall, Mr. Ciaran Walsh – a freelance theatre producer and currently Showcase Manager with Culture Ireland, and Ms. Louise Donlon Executive Director of the Lime Tree Theatre, Mary Immaculate College, and Belltable, in Limerick’s city centre.
All panel members were required to sign a declaration regarding conflict of interest and confidentiality in relation to this scheme.
Officials in my Department are engaging with applicants in relation to queries regarding the outcome of their Live Performance Support Scheme application. Information in relation to the appeals process for this scheme is available on my Department's website here - www.gov.ie/en/service/ca5d7-live-performance-support-scheme-2021/.
Details in relation to the number of applications submitted for this scheme by county are included in the table below;
|
County |
No. of LPSS 2021 applications Submitted |
|
Carlow |
5 |
|
Cavan |
4 |
|
Clare |
13 |
|
Cork |
37 |
|
Donegal |
19 |
|
Dublin |
156 |
|
Galway |
18 |
|
Kerry |
24 |
|
Kildare |
10 |
|
Kilkenny |
9 |
|
Laois |
5 |
|
Leitrim |
3 |
|
Limerick |
10 |
|
Longford |
2 |
|
Louth |
11 |
|
Mayo |
13 |
|
Meath |
16 |
|
Monaghan |
4 |
|
Offaly |
7 |
|
Roscommon |
2 |
|
Sligo |
8 |
|
Tipperary |
12 |
|
Waterford |
3 |
|
Westmeath |
8 |
|
Wexford |
6 |
|
Wicklow |
11 |
