2025-10-02

4. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to confirm whether he granted funding to a festival on an exceptional basis outside the normal application processes for annual departmental or Arts Council schemes; the amounts and the recipients of such exceptional funding outside the normal applications processes provided by his Department in relation to community festivals and summer schools since his appointment; and if he will commit to ensuring in future that any such exceptional funding is separately indexed by his Department. [52539/25]

My last attempt to ask this question was disallowed and a freedom of information request has yet to receive a response. I will ask it outright: did the new Minister ignore all normal arm's length criteria and competition-based funding processes so he could provide thousands of taxpayers' euro off the books at the request of somebody who was until January of this year a Government Senator?

The short answer is "No", but I will give the Deputy a longer answer now.

That is okay.

I understand the Deputy is referring to the approval on 30 May of an allocation of support not to exceed €25,000 in respect of the Listowel Writers Festival. My Department has a number of processes for allocating funding to a wide range of artistic and cultural organisations and events. These processes are designed to ensure fairness and, insofar as possible, maximise responsiveness to the needs of the sector. In response to requests for funding for local events each year, individuals and organisations, where possible, are directed to the small-scale local festival and summer school scheme or the Arts Council festival scheme, depending on the size of the event. It should be noted that organisations cannot receive income from both schemes. There may be instances whereby applicants have made an application to the Arts Council which was refused, and on this basis, the organisations may seek funding from the Department when that scheme is closed. Where such requests are received, the Department will consider them on a case-by-case basis. These are subject to available resources and all allocations are subject to compliance with public financial procedures, the requirements of the grant circular and my approval as Minister. This process has been in place for many years and all such grants are published each year on the Department’s website at the page headed "Cultural Projects Funding". Listowel Writers Week is an internationally acclaimed literary festival, devoted to bringing together writers and audiences at innovative events in the historic and intimate surroundings of Listowel. It was founded in 1970, with the first festival taking place in 1971. Listowel Writers Week is Ireland’s oldest literary and arts festival. It is a forum where writers, artists and poets gather to promote writing of all genres and create an environment in which literature can be appreciated by the widest possible audience. It is a festival where writers and readers gather to celebrate the written word together. Support of €25,000 for Listowel Writers Festival was approved alongside allocations to the Phil Murphy Weekend, which received €20,000; Éigse Michael Hartnett, which received €15,000; and Other Voices, which was granted €40,000.

I did not name the festival because I believe it deserves to be funded - I have absolutely no problem with that - but I am interested in the way in which the normal funding process was circumvented in this instance. The question is whether there are other ways for festivals to circumvent the small-scale schemes that the Minister mentioned or the Arts Council schemes. Yes, there are occasions when this happens but the Department does not publish a list of all of the groups that got funding outside of the normal channels and funding methods. The reason those funding methods were put in place was to avoid circumstances like the current one where allegations are made about the Department, the Minister or the person who sought the funding. I wish the festival well and I hope it continues. Hopefully, it will be funded properly so there is no need to try to seek funding outside of the normal channels.

The Deputy might say it is "outside of the normal channels" but I wonder if he ran this question by his colleague, Deputy Pa Daly, who represents the constituency of Kerry, before he came into the Chamber. Deputy Daly has used a similar channel for festival in Tralee called Anam. It was approved under that channel and received €7,500. There was no difficulty with that. I do not know what Deputy Ó Snodaigh has against the people of Listowel, and I do not know what he has against Listowel Writers Week, which is a very worthy festival. The last time I answered questions in this House, Deputy Ó Snodaigh and Deputy Doherty tore the place asunder over funding for a musical event in Gaoth Dobhair. Since those parliamentary questions, I was able to allocate funding to that event outside what the Deputy would call "normal" procedures. Does Deputy Ó Snodaigh believe I should take that money back from Gaoth Dobhair? Will he take it up with Deputy Doherty? Will he take up the €7,500 that the Department allocated to a festival in Tralee on foot of a request from Deputy Pa Daly? According to Deputy Ó Snodaigh, this was done "outside of the normal channels"?

I can answer that directly: no.

Do as I say and not as I do.

If the Minister would listen, I specifically said that Listowel Writers Week deserves to be properly funded.

So does Tralee. What is the problem?

Yes but the Minister did not publish that he was giving this money in this format to Listowel, to-----

The funding to Tralee was not published either.

-----Tralee or to any of the other ones.

So will we look for the money back again?

The Minister should publish it. That is transparency.

That is grand, okay.

If he is going to do it this way, the Minister will attract applications well beyond the three he mentioned. That is not the process. He set up a process and that is the way in which people should apply for funding and that funding should be increased. The problem is the Minister and his Department are not being transparent in the way it is funding. Yes, there are exceptions and, yes, there is a need-----

There are exceptions and those exceptions include Listowel Writers' Week, Tralee and others, but that should be published. The Minister should be open that this funding stream is available to everybody.

I could not be more open about Listowel. If the Deputy's party Deputy from north Kerry had turned up to the opening of Listowel Writers' Week, he would have got a press release on the extent of what the Department was giving. The Deputy does not have an issue with Tralee, because of Deputy Pa Daly, or with Gweedore, because of Deputy Pearse Doherty.

I have no issue with Listowel either.

Forgetting outside-----

I have absolutely no issue with Listowel.

What did the people of Listowel ever do to Sinn Féin?

I have absolutely no problem with Listowel.

What did the people of Listowel ever do to Sinn Féin?

Why is it that the Deputy is against-----

Can we have some order?

I had not mentioned Listowel. The Minister named it.

The Deputy named it in correspondence to my Department. I am clearing up the Dáil record.

Let the Minister respond.

The Deputy named it in correspondence to my Department.

The Minister brought Listowel into this.

The Deputy does not like it now. He named it in correspondence to my Department. I am going to be clear with the Dáil. The Deputy has a problem with Listowel Writers' Week. He has a problem.

The Deputy should let me finish. I did not shout him down.

Let the Minister finish.

This is the Deputy's tactic. He is now adopting the Pearse Doherty tactic. The last day the two Deputies came in here and they attacked me over Gweedore. I subsequently was able to fix it.

I did not.

Okay. Let the Minister-----

I did not hear the Deputy say today that I had allocated money to Gweedore outside normal practices. I also did not hear him say that I had allocated money to Tralee outside normal practices.

Minister, you are over time.

The Deputy should take it up with his own two Deputies.

Minister, you are over time.

The Deputy should take it up with his own two Deputies. I hope the people of Listowel-----

I hope the people of Listowel are listening to this on Radio Kerry.

Can the Deputy resume his seat, please?

I hope Jerry O'Sullivan on Radio Kerry is listening to this. I do not know what the Deputy has against the people of Listowel.

I have absolutely no problem.

The Deputy did not have the guts to put it down on the Question Paper today - the name of it.

Minister, please.

We have to move on. We are nearly one minute over time.

I would not have been allowed with the rules of the House. I did not put it down specifically, so that I was not casting aspersions on Listowel.

The Deputy cast aspersions on an individual.

Minister, resume your seat.

It was on the Minister and not on the------.

How dare the Deputy cast aspersions on me. On what basis is the Deputy casting aspersions on me?

Minister, will you resume your seat?

The Minister has been doing that for the past ten minutes.

Resume your seat.

On what basis is the Deputy casting aspersions on me?

The Deputy should take it up with his colleague, Deputy Pa Daly. Do not come in here like a hypocrite.

Minister, please resume your seat. Deputy, resume your seat.

The Deputy wants to have his cake and to eat it. He has a problem with Listowel Writers' Week.

I have absolutely no problem with Listowel.

The Deputy has a problem with the people of Listowel but he has no problem with Gweedore.

I do not have a problem with the people of Listowel.

The Deputy is a hypocrite.

Minister, will you please-----

The Deputy is a hypocrite.

Deputy, resume your seat.

The people of Listowel and Deputy Daly will know all about.

Minister, please. We need to move on.

They will get more next year.

Great. That is what I said. They should be funded properly. I might get an invite next year.

We might move on.

There is an open invite to everybody.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh has touched a nerve.

A very raw nerve.

Because I am in favour of the people of Listowel. I will take Deputy McGuinness on as well.

What problem does Sinn Féin have with the people of Listowel? It is absolutely ridiculous, Minister, to be fair.

Exactly. The decent people of Listowel.

I have not followed the issue but I thought that was a bit ridiculous.