There were clashes in the Dail this week after it emerged that Culture Minister Patrick O’Donovan instituted a ‘first-come, first-served’ approach to funding under the Grassroots Music Venue Scheme, without applicants being made aware of it.
Deputy Pearse Doherty told the Dail that the one Donegal applicant, The Social in Gweedore ran over 80 eligible events over two years, but got no funding.
Indeed, no applicants north of Galway or west of Louth were successful.
Deputy Doherty told the Minister that performers, sound engineers and lighting engineers in the Northwest will now lose out compared to other regions of the state.……..
You can hear the full discussion here –
Statement from SF Culture Spokesperson –
Culture Minister’s unfair decision replaces merit with ‘first-come, first-served’ funding – Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD
Sinn Féin spokesperson for Gaeilge, Gaeltacht, Arts and Culture, Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD, has slammed the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD, for instituting a new, unfair first-come, first-served approach to funding under the Grassroots Music Venue Scheme, without any justification.
Teachta Ó Snodaigh said:
“I always welcome additional funding to support music and the arts, but venues deserve fair play in any application process, and that simply did not happen in this case.
“Applicants were given a window in which to apply by a set deadline, only to apparently discover once they applied that a secret first-come, first served cut-off was in place.
“This meant only the earliest to apply got funding, and Minister O’Donovan refused to say, when I asked yesterday in the Dáil, if some applicants were informed of this insider information in advance and given an unfair advantage.
“Minister O’Donovan admitted that it would be inappropriate to divvy out a scheme as large as the Sports Capital Grant on a first-come, first-served basis, but saw no problem with applying the same meritless approach to this €500,000 music venue scheme.
“It was particularly galling that the Minister said he was satisfied there was a good regional spread considering not one venue north of Galway or west of Louth was awarded funding, while 42% of recipients are in his home province of Munster.
“This is a gross insult to the Northwest and Midlands regions, particularly considering The Social in Gaoth Dóbhair operated 84 eligible events over the 2-year period considered for the scheme and applied within a week of applications opening.
“As my colleague, Pearse Doherty TD, told the Minister in the Dáil yesterday, performers, sound engineers and lighting engineers in the Northwest will now lose out compared to other regions of the state.
“Minister O’Donovan’s claim to have aimed to provide the maximum amount of money to the maximum amount of locations does not hold water.
“The grant scheme allowed for an allocation of anywhere between €5,000 and €15,000 to each applicant, and as there were only 45 eligible applicants, this could have meant €11,000 for each one.
“Instead, Minister O’Donovan took the lazy approach of simply giving the first 33 applicants the maximum €15,000, which in fact means there is still €5,000 in the pot which went to nobody.
“Minister O’Donovan should provide a proper explanation of why this first-come, first-served approach was adopted and who was told in advance.
“People in the Northwest and Midlands also deserve an explanation from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Independent TDs who support this government policy of leaving their local music sector behind.”
