Speech of the Minister for Tourism, Sport and the Arts, John O'Donoghue: 8 December 2005

The capital allocations announced yesterday by my colleague, Mr. Brian Cowen, T.D., Minister for Finance, in his financial statement, included provision for a most important package of capital investment in key elements of our national cultural infrastructure.
This package include the redevelopment of the Abbey Theatre and of the National Concert Hall, the complete remodelling of the Theatre Royal in Wexford, and the substantial refurbishment of the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin.
These are flagship projects, which will greatly enhance the quality of our cultural infrastructure.
The Abbey Theatre is at the centre of Ireland' theatrical and cultural life. It has been recognised for some time that the existing Abbey premises falls well short of the requirements of a vibrant National Theatre. A suitable site has now been made available for the redevelopment of the Theatre by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. OPW have completed the necessary site investigations at the site, located at George's Dock, and have advised that it would be a suitable location for the National Theatre.
The accommodation brief for the new theatre, which was previously drawn up in consultation with the Abbey Board, specified the following requirements:
- To be a signature development, representative of a national theatre
in the 21st century.
- To be in an appropriate civic setting and form part of the overall urban regeneration represented by the O'Connell Street Integrated Area Plan and North East Inner City Plan.
- Three significant enlarged auditoria, Abbey, Peacock and a third multipurpose space.
- A dedicated education and outreach facility.
- A publicly accessible archive.
- Restaurant/bar.
- Improved public areas.
- Disabled access for audiences and artists
- Best practice theatre production facilities
The next stage is to examine options for procuring the theatre as a PPP project, including the incorporation of a separate international design competition, and I will report back to Government on this aspect by end-February 2006.
I am also delighted that the capital envelope published yesterday will enable me to proceed with the redevelopment of the National Concert Hall as a PPP project. In particular, I wish to highlight that provision is being made next year to enable the process of acquiring the site for a new state-of-the-art concert hall to get under way.
Our planning for the design of the concert hall will be based on the design concept emerging from a feasibility study carried out by the Office of Public Works. The key elements of the proposal are as follows:
- A new Concert Hall incorporating a main auditorium with a seating capacity for 2000 patrons and meeting the requirement for open disabled access
- A 900-seat hall for concerts, opera, National Symphony Orchestra rehearsals and broadcasts.
- A flexible smaller hall with a seating capacity of 500, enabling smaller concerts to proceed simultaneously with performances in the main Concert Hall.
The provision of a signature premises on a par with those in capital cities across Europe will enable the National Concert Hall to meet the current and expanding market demand for musical entertainment and cultural events. I have long noted that the National Concert Hall within its very limited space at Earlsfort Terrace is highly energetic and operates with a strong market focus. Seat occupancy consistently exceeds 80%, with patrons being turned away from many 'house full' events. The new facility incorporating a 2,000-seat auditorium will enable the National Concert Hall to meet public demand far more effectively including the staging of key performances by top-class world artistes at a reasonable ticket price.
I am also delighted that the Theatre Royal in Wexford will be refurbished and remodelled.
The Theatre Royal is the venue for the world famous Wexford Festival Opera.
For fifty years the Wexford Festival Opera has been a key event in the cultural life of Ireland and has won extensive international acclaim. The existing Theatre Royal has been at the centre of the Festival's success, but now needs substantial upgrading to meet the Festival's future needs. I believe that this is a very worthwhile development, of immense importance to the cultural life of Ireland and of very particular significance to Wexford and its hinterland.
My one regret in confirming the redevelopment of the Theatre Royal is that Mr. Jerome Hynes, the former Chief Executive of the Wexford Festival Opera, cannot be with us to share the good news. Jerome should take much of the credit for this decision, for he drove this project forward with far-sighted planning, unlimited energy and focus, and extraordinary persistence. His work has finally borne fruit, and he is and will long bemissed by us all.
The Gaiety Theatre is one of the very few facilities in Dublin capable of staging large-scale opera productions. This refurbishment will enable the Gaiety to fulfil this key role into the future.
This suite of investments represents an extremely important initiative by the Government, in that it addresses key infrastructural deficiencies in our national cultural infrastructure, which will make the arts more accessible to all of our people. It will also enhance the quality of our cultural tourism offering to our overseas visitors.
I am delighted that the Artists Tax Exemption has been retained for qualified income up to •250,000. I believe that the level at which the exemption mechanism is now pitched will continue to encourage artistic activity in this country. There will be no flight of either activity or income. Furthermore, I believe that it will encourage other taxable activity by artists in this country as the effective rate of tax on those with high incomes in Ireland compares favourably internationally.
SPORT
Under this Government, very considerable progress has been made to bring Ireland's sporting infrastructure into line with best international standards. In the area of major capital development we are continuing to provide important investment funding in partnership with Sports Governing Bodies in large capital projects. Over the past few years, the Exchequer has provided •110m to the GAA as an input to the splendid development that has been undertaken at Croke Park. More recently, grant aid of •191m has been committed by the Exchequer towards the development of the Stadium at Lansdowne Road in partnership with the IRFU and FAI. A sum of €20m will be provided in the Vote of my Department for this project in 2006. This project is progressing, according to its challenging schedule, and will be delivered over the next four years. I am pleased to say that a planning application is now almost completed and should be ready for lodgement at the end of this month.
Today I am particularly happy to confirm the commencement of the Abbotstown Sports Campus. In this current Budget, the Government has agreed to provide funding of €9.5m in 2006 to enable work to continue for Phase I of the Project, which has been costed at €119m will delivered over a 4-5year timeframe. A considerable effort had been put into the discussion and
planning stage of the project, these plans have now been endorsed by the Government and the work will commence early next year. Ireland is now on track to provide state of the art facilities for sports men and women to train and prepare for competition at the highest level. There will also be a range of facilities available to the public and the training needs of over 30 Governing Bodies of Sport. Irish Sport deserves no less! Looking forward to the run up to the London Olympics of 2012, Ireland can now become an attractive option as a training base for international Olympic teams. Irish Olympic hopefuls will have excellent training facilities available to them at home and they will benefit from the transfer of expertise through contact with their international competitors.
The Sports Capital Programme, which is administered by my Department, plays a crucial role in the development of the quality sports infrastructure needed to enhance participation and improve performance in sport. Under the Programme, funding is allocated towards the provision of sports facilities at national, regional and local level. It is the primary vehicle for promoting the development of sports and recreational facilities in Ireland.
Since 1998, this Government has allocated funding amounting to €386 million under the Programme to more than 4,900 projects to provide badly needed facilities and equipment in virtually every parish, village, town and city throughout Ireland.
We have an ambitious Swimming Pool Programme in conjunction with the local authorities, whereby 18 new pools have been built and 7 more are under construction, while a further 30 are moving through various stages of planning leading to construction.
The unprecedented level of funding for sport, which will continue in 2006 has both increased the quantity and transformed the quality of sports facilities available countrywide ? important facilities such as swimming pools, dressing rooms, pitches, floodlighting, modern sports equipment etc.
This has allowed schemes to be developed to get people of all ages and from all backgrounds more involved in sport.
TOURISM
Budget 2006 together with increased Estimates allocations for next year will benefit the tourism sector.
The major issue facing Irish tourism at present is competitiveness. Budget 2006, with its emphasis on sustaining order in the public finances, minimising inflation and avoiding increases in indirect taxes and excise duties, will support the Irish tourism industry in delivering value for money and meeting international competition.
I welcome a number of measures in the Budget, which favourably impact on tourism. The availability of accelerated capital allowances in the past has been of critical importance in encouraging investment in the provision of tourism accommodation, in particular hotels. The number of hotel rooms has almost doubled from 26,000 in 1996 to approximately 45,000 at present
and our current hotel stock is among the most modern in Europe. The extension announced by Brian Cowen, the Minister for Finance, in the cut-off date for investment in hotel projects currently in the pipeline to benefit under the existing generous accelerated capital allowances will facilitate the orderly progression of projects and help to ensure that any further additions to stock are warranted by clear and identified market potential.
The increase in the VAT exemption limit for small service businesses will benefit small accommodation providers, including B&Bs who are under some pressure due to changes in consumer demand and tastes as will the change from monthly to quarterly filing of PAYE forms.
Tourism is no longer a Cinderella industry. It is very much centre stage and the Government has shown its unrelenting commitment to it by resourcing our Tourism Agencies as never before. For 2006, I have secured an unprecedented level of Exchequer resources for tourism development - €134m representing an increase of 7% on 2005. The investment will enable the
Tourism Agencies - Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland - to deliver in full their ambitious marketing and development plans for 2006, which were unveiled to the industry at a major promotional event earlier this week.
The increased marketing fund, in particular will enable both Agencies to significantly step up their game on the marketing front in 2006. In securing the largest ever allocation of €40m for the Tourism Marketing Fund, I have specifically asked the Agencies to focus on stimulating regional spread, promoting greater usage of special interest products - in particular golf to benefit from our hosting of the Ryder Cup next September - capitalising on air access developments and enhancing our e-marketing capabilities.
ENDS