Vol. 443 No. 2
33 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht if he has received an application for a grant to assist in the setting up of a new theatre in Longford town; if a grant has been sanctioned; when the application was received; when a decision was made on it; the manner in which such grants are normally announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
An application to assist the setting up of a new theatre in Longford was received by my Department on 5 October 1993. Although I was greatly impressed by the proposals made by the applicants —"A Theatre for Longford", comprising the Backstage Theatre Group, Longford Slashers GAA Club and Longford County Council — there were no funds at my disposal in 1993 to support the project.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the funds at my disposal for 1994 enabled me to give detailed consideration to this application recently. I was able to obtain the approval in principle of the Minister for Finance for a grant of £300,000 for the project. Such approvals are subject to subsequent specific sanctions from the Department of Finance. My Department is currently in consultation with that Department with a view to completing the final stage of the approval process.
