Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue has denied showing favouritism to his native Kerry in the share-out of €16.4 million in arts grants from surplus money in his department's budget.
A total of 29 arts and cultural organisations and projects around the country benefited from the share-out, with nine of them each receiving sums of between €350,000 and €7.5 million.
Of the 20 other projects which received grants totalling €1,548,000, eight are are based in Co Kerry, the Minister's home county.
Opposition politicians last night accused the Minister of showing favouritism to Kerry.
Fine Gael's finance spokesman Richard Bruton welcomed the additional funding but said the Minister "does appear to have paid particular attention to his own part of the country".
"Given that the election is only a matter of months away, perhaps the Minister is more concerned about his own prospects than he is about the arts, particularly in the light of this Government's repeated attempts to buy the electorate," he said.
Labour's arts spokesman Jack Wall described the allocations as "shoneenism at its utmost".
"I would be deeply concerned if the Minister did not use the offices of the Arts Council in relation to deciding on the allocation of this funding, and also about the fact that he has been parochial in relation to this allocation."
A spokesman for the Minister said there had been no "targeting" of Co Kerry and it was "more a coincidence that several organisations in Kerry have benefited".
He said only four of the eight Kerry organisations were in the Minister's Kerry South constituency, with the other four being in Kerry North.
The eight Kerry projects to receive grants are Siamsa Tíre, €200,000; the Carnegie Arts Centre in Kenmare, €150,000; a proposed monument in Killarney to traditional musician Johnny O'Leary, €80,000; the Cill Rialaig Centre, €50,000; Teach Amergin Community Education Centre in Waterville, €30,000; St John's, Listowel, €20,000; Samhlaíocht in Tralee, €20,000; and the Kerry School of Music, €11,000.
The Arts Council received the largest grant of €7.5 million, bringing the total amount it is getting in Government funding this year to €79.81 million.
Mr O'Donoghue said the Arts Council allocation would facilitate the provision of €850,000 for the Wexford Festival Opera, €2.2 million for a studio refurbishment scheme, and €741,000 for the Irish Traditional Music Archive among other projects.
Among the other major beneficiaries of yesterday's grants was Smock Alley Theatre, which is still in development in central Dublin. It received €350,000. Temple Bar Cultural Trust (TBCT) owns the site and building complex.
Their development partner for Smock Alley is the Gaiety School of Acting.
The trust's chief executive, Dermot McLaughlin, said yesterday that the funding "will help bring back to life a theatre that is of huge European importance".
The Irish Film Board received €2.3 million.
The National Concert Hall, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, and the Gate Theatre in Dublin each received €1 million. The Gate has long been planning to build an extension.
Similarly, the Abbey Theatre, which is planning to redesign its auditorium, got €500,000, as did the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Cork Opera House got €450,000.
The disbursement of funding to the 29 projects will enable organisations "to proceed with refurbishment, renovation and repair works, to purchase equipment, fixtures and fittings and to improve access", the Minister said in a statement yesterday.
Department of Arts surplus: where the money went and how Kerry benefited
Cill Rialaig Centre €150,000
O'Leary monument, Killarney €180,000
St John's, Listowel €120,000
Carnegie Arts Centre, Kenmare €1150,000
150,000
O'Leary monument, Killarney €180,000
St John's, Listowel €120,000
Carnegie Arts Centre, Kenmare €1150,000
180,000
St John's, Listowel €120,000
Carnegie Arts Centre, Kenmare €1150,000
120,000
Carnegie Arts Centre, Kenmare €1150,000
1150,000
Siamsa Tíre, Kerry €1200,000
Teach Amergin, Waterville €130,000
Siamsa Tíre, Kerry €1200,000
Teach Amergin, Waterville €130,000
130,000
Samhlaíocht, Tralee €120,000
Kerry School of Music €111,000
120,000
Kerry School of Music €111,000
111,000
And the other allocations...
Arts Council €7,500,000
Irish Film Board €2,300,000
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann €1,000,000
National Concert Hall €1,000,000
The Gate Theatre €1,000,000
Abbey Theatre €500,000
Irish Chamber Orchestra €500,000
Cork Opera House 450,000
Smock Alley Theatre €350,000
Clasac Traditional Arts, Dublin €300,000
Limerick City Gallery €250,000
Hawk's Well Theatre, Sligo €200,000
Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford €150,000
Druid Theatre Company, Galway €150,000
Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh 60,000
APDI, Dublin €50,000
Irish Baroque Orchestra €40,000
James Joyce Centre, Dublin €30,000
Improvised Music Company, Dublin €25,000
Fire Station Artists Studio, Dublin €20,000
Temple Bar Gallery & Studios, Dublin €12,000