Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 June 2014
4. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the reason certainty over funding was not clarified in advance of the commencement of Limerick’s year as the city of culture; the amount of funding allocated that has been spent to date; the amount of funding that is still to be spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24538/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis question is posed against the background of general public and political support for the Limerick city of culture initiative and seeks to establish certainty around funding. At the outset of the project there was uncertainty about the funding available and we wonder what the situation is now regarding funding spent and whether there will be adequate funding available to see the project through to its conclusion without going over budget.
As the Deputy is aware, in the past six years overall funding to the arts and culture sector has been declining in line with other Government spending. In this climate securing funds for any new initiative such as the inaugural national city of culture presented a significant challenge. In April 2012 the Limerick Reorganisation Implementation Group, LRIG, sent an outline proposal to my Department entitled, Limerick City of Culture 2014, setting out the proposition that the designation of Limerick as national city of culture in 2014 would lead to long-lasting renewal. In May 2012 I received a letter from the LRIG with a further iteration of this document. On 3 July 2012 the Government considered the proposal and the national city of culture initiative was agreed.
During the remainder of 2012 and 2013 Limerick developed a programme of arts and cultural events and plans for 2014. On 15 October 2013 the Minister for Finance announced an allocation of €6 million from the proceeds of the sale of the national lottery to the Limerick national city of culture project. Securing funding of this level, in very difficult economic circumstances, was a major achievement. This allocation was notified ten weeks in advance of the programme starting and 62 weeks ahead of the programme's closure. However, potential funding of that general magnitude had been signalled to Limerick city of culture as early as April 2013 to assist in the preparatory work on the programme.
Up to and including last Monday, 9 June, €1.713 million had been paid to Limerick City and County Council in respect of the national city of culture, in accordance with arrangements put in place in a memorandum of understanding and service level agreement which I signed with the city and county manager. This means that €4.287 million remains to be drawn down. The programme elements to which the local authority has applied this funding are available on my Department's website, as is other information on the arts, culture and heritage programming which is being presented in Limerick this year. I particularly draw the Deputy's attention to the made in Limerick programme which comprises more than 100 grants to arts, culture and heritage practitioners, most of whom are from in and around the city of Limerick. To date, the programme has been very strong and keynote events have met with great critical acclaim. That strength and acclaim would not support any contention that the generosity of the taxpayer support for this initiative was in any way a negative factor. The Deputy will agree on the importance of judging the Limerick city of culture initiative on the quality and success of the programme over the course of the year, rather than any other more peripheral factor.
While I agree that the time for effective evaluation will be at the end of the process, we must take into account the fact that those directly involved, including the county manager, to whom the Minister referred, expressed concern at the delay in announcing the initial tranche of funding. Some expressed the view that difficulties ensued in attracting the sort of philanthropic investment that was so important to the initiative. The Minister has pioneered philanthropic contributions in this area. Six months into the process it is prudent to examine the financial position and see how the initiative is progressing. Given that the Minister has said €1.17 million has been spent and €4.2 million remains to be spent, I take it that he can assure us that the budget of €6 million which will be money well spent if, as we all hope, the project is successful will not be exceeded.
I am very encouraged by the way the Limerick city of culture programme is developing and the positive response nationally and locally to the project. The people of Limerick realise this is a wonderful opportunity for them which they must embrace. The 100 grants to local arts groups are bringing out the best in Limerick. People in places such as Moyross and Southill are coming forward with good content. If the Deputy has not already done so, I suggest he attend some of the events in Limerick. I suggest public representatives go to see how culture is improving morale and pride in the city. Some major events are forthcoming.
In April 2013 the Limerick city of culture committee was told €6 million would be made available and that it should structure a programme around this commitment. The commitment could not be given until the budget, which was always made clear, when it could be clarified by the Minister for Finance.
I take it then that the Minister is giving an assurance that the budget of €6 million will not be exceeded. A criticism of the Department is that the selection of Limerick as city of culture arose in the absence of any competition whatsoever, meaning there was no opportunity for other cities to compete for the position. I also hold the view one has to start somewhere and that Limerick was probably the best place to start. However, there is a general public concern that this level of public funding was committed to a project without there being any transparency in the process and that the Department tried to provide some sort of retrospective rationale for the selection of Limerick for this initiative. Will the Minister address those concerns?
As I said before, when I was appointed Minister, I visited Limerick on several occasions to open art exhibitions and venues. It struck me then that the wider perception of Limerick did not reflect the level of activity in the artistic, cultural and heritage areas in the city. I had discussions with the three main education institutions there, the arts community on two occasions, the Chamber of Commerce and the regeneration group on how we could use culture to improve the image of Limerick and help with its regeneration. They responded by coming forward with a very good proposal, namely that Limerick could be designated as the 2014 city of culture to coincide with the change of governance in Limerick and the significant amount of money being spent by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and Limerick City Council on the city’s physical regeneration. We wanted a cultural regeneration to accompany that. I then presented a proposal that there would be a national city of culture programme starting with Limerick. I accept there was no competition.
I am delighted, however, that several cities have inquired of my Department and directly of myself, expressing an interest in the next designation of city of culture and ensuring they will have ample opportunity to apply for it. That was the process and it goes down to this time in Limerick when it was going through major change in regeneration and governance.
