The Minister for the Arts, Mr O'Donoghue, will today confirm the abandonment of the plan by his predecessor, Ms Síle de Valera, to set up a special committee within the Arts Council to control the funding of traditional music. Mark Brennock, Chief Political Correspondent, reports.
Introducing new amendments at report stage of the Arts Bill 2002 in the Dáil, Mr O'Donoghue will also announce that the Arts Council membership is to be reduced from 17 to 13, rather than the nine-member body proposed in the initial Bill.
The membership of the new council is expected to be announced in July if the Arts Bill is passed, as expected, before the Dail's summer recess.
The abandonment of the plan for a standing committee on the traditional arts represents a victory for a number of traditional music bodies and high-profile musicians, such as Christy Moore, Paul Brady and Paddy Maloney of the Chieftains.
Ms de Valera had proposed such a committee after persistent lobbying by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and its director-general, the Fianna Fáil Senator Labhras O'Murchu, who maintained the Arts Council consistently underfunded the sector.
Opposition to the proposal came from other elements of the traditional music sector, which questioned whether a committee set up at the behest of one group and with control over funding would adequately reflect the views of the entire sector.
Mr O'Donoghue is expected to announce today that instead of setting up permanent standing committees to deal with traditional arts and other issues, he will reserve the right to set up temporary committees from time to time to deal with particular areas of the arts. The first such committee is expected to examine the traditional arts area, and to consider what elements should be funded and how.
Unlike the committee proposed by Ms de Valera, it will not have control over funding.
Two other Arts Council standing committees proposed in the original Bill - to deal with arts activity of local authorities and innovation in the arts sector - will not be established.
Mr O'Donoghue, appointed a new member to the Board of the Abbey Theatre yesterday. Dr John O'Mahony SC will replace the author Ms Deirdre Purcell who has served the maximum permitted time of three terms on the board.
Ms Eithne Healy has been reappointed to the board.