asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when it is intended to reappoint the Cultural Relations Committee which was due for reappointment at the beginning of this year; if he will outline his policy for the future of this committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Cultural Relations Committee Reappointment.
28.
The Cultural Relations Committee was first appointed in 1949 to advise the Minister for Foreign Affairs on the expenditure of the allocation for cultural relations received by his Department. The committee consists of up to sixteen members appointed for a term of two years by the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
I would hope to appoint a new Cultural Relations Committee by the end of the year. The terms of reference of the committee have been drawn up and are revised from time to time by the Minister for Foreign Affairs with the consent of the Minister for Finance. The most recent substantive revisions to the terms of reference were approved by the Minister for Finance on 29 January 1982. Necessary but minor revisions to these terms of reference were made in November 1987 to take account of lottery funding.
Under the terms of reference the main function of the committee is, when the Minister for Foreign Affairs may so request, to advise the Minister on artistic and cultural merits of particular cultural projects abroad. Previous Cultural Relations Committees have operated satisfactorily within the framework of these terms of reference, and I see no reason why a new Cultural Relations Committee should not continue to do so.