Louth TD accuses government of burying Arts Council overspend report until after election

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, Joanna Byrne TD, has accused the government of sitting on an Arts Council overspend report until after the General Election in what she has claimed is an "attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of voters."

The Louth TD said:

“The Arts Council Annual Report 2023 highlighted overspend by the Arts Council on a digital transformation report. This was submitted to the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media as far back as last summer. 

“The accounts within this report include notes from Comptroller and Auditor General noting an estimated loss of €5.3m, which now sits at €6.675m.

“This report notes that the Arts Council received sign-off from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for this project, and kept the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media updated and informed throughout.

“It is quite clear that the government sat on this report until after the General Election in another attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of voters, taking them for fools, with examination of the report only commissioned nine days ago on February 6th.

“Did the Department of Arts inform the Department of Public Expenditure? Did Paschal Donohoe or other senior ministers know about this latest shameful waste of taxpayers’ money?"

The report also highlighted that €9 million was spent on consultants between 2019 and 2023 and €30,000 on scoping with a property consultant for a new HQ which never transpired.

She continued: “The Arts Council selected suppliers for the project such as Codex from the Framework Panel for ICT, as provided by the Office for Government Procurement. What else are we going to uncover when we look further under the bonnet of this government’s procurement processes?

“The Arts Council has reduced funding now under the Arts Programme for events in 2026. This programme primarily supports organisations outside the capital city and its reduction threatens the vitality of regional arts initiatives. 

“Notably, this decision was made despite the Arts Council receiving increased funding from the government. Is this as a result of government knowledge of the overspend? No other rationale has been provided.

“The Arts Council is now in crisis, leaving huge concern and impact on artists and creators who rely on Arts Council funding.

“In the dying days of the last government, we had the drip-feed of shocking levels of waste - €336,000 on a bike shed, €500,000 on private jet flights for Simon Harris,  €1.4m on a security hut, €9m on phone pouches, and the biggest one of all, the €1.5 billion overspend on the Children’s Hospital.

“In the past number of weeks, we have since learnt of the €490,000 OPW wall at the WRC, and now this - a report documenting staggering levels of overspending that was clearly buried for political convenience ahead of the General Election. It stinks. 

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“What we have seen this week from government is crying faux outrage from the Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris. The public does not buy it.

“Sinn Féin, in our election manifesto and reiterated since, has called for a transparent waste audit to be carried out right across government departments and state agencies.

“Why? Because the reality is that we don’t know the extent of the scandalous waste of public money under the watch of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

“We need to see government departments and state agencies audited immediately - Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael cannot wash their hands of accountability.”