I move:
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £15,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1973, for certain Miscellaneous Expenses, including certain grants-in-aid.
This Supplementary Estimate is required to enable the Grant-in-Aid of the Abbey Theatre to be increased by £50,000 and to provide a grant of £5,000 for the general expense of the Dublin Theatre Festival. The State grant to the Abbey is based on meeting annual deficits in the running expenses of the theatre. In recent years these deficits have been growing due to wage increases, general cost increases and the fall in the number of tourists. The Abbey Board have made reasonable efforts to maximise receipts but are reluctant to increase the price of tickets above an unacceptable level. As from 16th January this year the price range of seats was reduced from six to four, and price increases were implemented over that range increasing the total value of a full house to £533.75 as opposed to £392. These increases, through welcome, cannot meet the falling off in box office receipts incurred as a result of the decline in tourists, particularly this year. Furthermore, £40,000 of a grant of £160,000 paid already this year was used for the purpose of writing down the overdrafts existing on 31st March, 1972, which left the Abbey with a reduced working capital for 1972-73. In the light of these financial circumstances, a supplementary grant of £50,000 is required in order to clear off the estimated deficit in the current year.
In July, 1972, the Minister for Finance directed that a grant be paid to Dublin Theatre Festival Limited to enable them to stage the 1973 festival. The organisers of the festival submitted, on request, a copy of the accounts for 1969 and 1971 and ultimately the Minister agreed to make a grant of £20,000. The £5,000 being provided for in the Supplementary Estimate is the first instalment.
The grant to the Dublin Theatre Festival was made this year as a "once for all" payment pending the restructuring of the Arts Council and to obviate the closing down of the Festival Office and the disbanding of the Festival staff through lack of financial support.