Arts Council report changed

Fifty-nine changes were made to the report by the Arts Council after it had been agreed by a Special Committee on the Traditional Arts on 13 July, 2004, according to the traditional music organisation, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. The most substantial of these changes related to funding recommendations which could result in a loss of approximately €1 million to the traditional arts. Other changes made to the report concern education and traditional arts and the role of community arts in local authorities were also made and key appendices were left out.

"The report presented to the Arts Council as the majority report was not the report approved on 13 July, 2004....What is worse is that the altered report specifically states that this was the report approved on 13 July," said Senator Labhras O'Murchu during a Dáil Committee debate on 13 October, 2004. "The process is wrong because it is flawed and could be found to be illegal. It will have to be investigated".

A statement issued by Comhaltas on 4 May this year, following its Annual Congress said that the Arts Council has acknowledged "substantial unauthorised changes" had been made to the Committee's Report after it had been formally approved. The Comhaltas statement goes on to say that the process was flawed.

A spokesperson for the Arts Council said that it never acknowledged substantial changes had been made, it was happy with the process employed in preparing the report on the traditional arts and is fully committed to it. As a sign of their commitment to traditional arts, action on recommendations have already started through the employment of a traditional arts specialist. Meetings have begun to take place between the Arts Council and Comhaltas but no resolution has yet emerged. There has been no official response from the Minister.

Hilary Curley