The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, has ruled out financial help for the Rose of Tralee Festival, which is facing liquidation.His Department had no provision in its estimates to cover festivals with debts to the tune of €900,000, he said. Anne Lucey reports.
"If it is in debt to the tune of €900,000 and in danger of liquidation, we have no provision in our estimates to cover a contingency like that."
The Minister said he wished he had such a contingency fund "but we don't".
"All we have is a fund available for festivals and administered by Fáilte Ireland."
However, that fund, of €3 million, was to be used for festivals in the future.
A €150,000 grant to the Rose of Tralee had not been drawn down, Mr O'Donoghue added.
A majority of the festival's creditors had accepted 30 per cent of what they were owed, the festival's chief executive, Ms Siobhán Hanley, said yesterday.
However, the company had failed to come up with even the €300,000 accepted by creditors.
Talks during the week chaired by Mayor of Tralee Terry O'Brien and attended by tourism and vintners' representatives and Shannon Development failed to come up with the money.
Five bodies have now been approached to back the festival to the tune of €50,000 each.
These are Shannon Development, Tralee Chamber of Commerce, Holiday Tralee, Tralee and Kerry Vintners and Tralee Town Council.