The Abbey Theatre's debts are to be cleared by a special grant of more than €4 million announced yesterday by the Minister for Arts, John O'Donoghue, as part of overall additional arts funding totalling €15.72 million.
The Abbey grant is part of extra funding of € 5.233 million to the Arts Council, and is in response to its request for funding to allow the theatre to "move forward". The theatre is being restructured internally after a series of financial crises, and a new board is expected to be in place by early January. Its projected loss for 2005 is €900,000, bringing the cumulative deficit to approximately €3.4million, which will be cleared by the grant. The Minister has also awarded the theatre an extra € 500,000 for refurbishment.
The rest of the money awarded to the council yesterday (€1.2 million) is for funding opera, traditional arts and festivals.
Savings over the course of the year across the department's budget mean that more than €15 million can be redeployed.
Mr O'Donoghue said the substantial funding for the Arts Council would enable it to put the Abbey "on a more secure financial footing and to clear the existing operational and bank debt. It demonstrates the Government's and the council's commitment to a successful future for the Abbey."
Outgoing chairwoman of the Abbey, Eithne Healy, welcomed the "superb news for the Abbey" and thanked the Minister for "this major commitment to secure the future of the theatre . . . We wish the new board and Fiach [ MacConghail, the Abbey director] every success."
Mr MacConghail said the "massive vote of confidence and strong support for the Abbey as Ireland's national theatre and its civic and artistic role in Irish society" would give his team "the impetus to continue to create good theatre for Irish audiences".
Other beneficiaries of additional funding include the Irish Film Board (€1.5 million); the Chester Beatty Library (whose extra €385,000 includes €310,000 capital funding); and Irish Museum of Modern Art (an extra €530,000, including €310,000 capital funding). The National Concert Hall receives €287,000, the James Joyce Cultural Centre €100,000, and 12 arts and cultural projects across the country are to receive a total of €4.28 million, including Dún Mhuire theatre in Wexford, Garter Lane arts centre and Spraoi, both in Waterford, Graffiti theatre company and Triskel arts centre in Cork.