Latest news with #DepartmentofArts
RTÉ News
7 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Arts Council 'greatly regrets' €6.7m IT failure, PAC hears
The Arts Council has said it "greatly regrets" spending €6.7 million on a complex IT project that was later abandoned, the Public Accounts Committee has heard. The council confirmed that it is now pursuing legal cases against two of the IT contractors involved in the failed project. Arts Council chairperson Maura McGrath said that in relation to the IT system failure the project was "not and is not an optional extra". "It began out of necessity, and it is a necessity that remains to be addressed." She also questioned the expectation that "small state bodies set up for specialist purposes" should be expected to "carry the load on complex IT projects". Ms McGrath added that the Arts Council "accepts the findings" of the Examination Report published by the Department of Arts in February this year. Arts Council Director Maureen Kennelly said that council began this project to modernise its IT systems and integrate five systems into one, explaining that the systems date from 2008, are not integrated and are difficult to use. Everything on this project was procured under public procurement guidelines, she said, adding that the council used the Office of Government Procurement framework, and the main contractor was on the OGP approved ICT framework. She added that the council "engaged external contractors to manage and deliver the work, as we did not have the internal resources to deliver this large-scale project". Ms Kennelly said that as the council approached their expected delivery in September 2022, a year later than initially planned, "multiple bugs were discovered". The sub-standard work meant the project could not move forward to completion. The council then ended contracts with both the testers and developers, she said. She added that they changed the developers, project governance and management structure and began work to "rectify and complete the programme". Ms Kennelly then said that the council was ultimately advised that the system was "too flawed to rectify in a reasonable timeframe". She said that system development was then paused, and it stopped following a board decision, with the input of the office of the Government Chief Information Officer, in June 2024. The effect of this decision was an overall loss of value of €5.3 million, which was reported to the C&AG and included in the 2023 annual report and accounts. "Throughout, we provided information and discussed with our colleagues in the department how increasing costs were to be funded from within our capital grant. "In summary, lack of internal expertise, poor performance by our contractors and also, the impact of Covid-19 all contributed to the project failure." Ms Kennelly explained that the council has commenced legal proceedings against two contractors and is in the pre-action stage in relation to two others, adding that the council is "vigorously" pursuing the cases to reduce the loss to the taxpayer. She also said that they have senior ICT expertise in-house now and are in the process of implementing all recommendations relevant to us from the department's examination report. Secretary General of the Department of Tourism, Culture and Arts Feargal Ó Coigligh told the PAC that his department had "failed" to properly exercise its oversight function. He added that they "should have intervened more actively and much sooner" to reduce the exposure of the taxpayer to this failed project. The minister has established an Expert Advisory Committee, led by Professor Niamh Brennan, to review the Governance and Organisational Culture in the Arts Council, said Mr Ó Coigligh. A parallel review of the department's internal governance operations is also under way with the assistance of the IPA. National Gallery of Ireland A team from the National Gallery of Ireland will also appear before the PAC to explain why it purchased a scanner for €125,000, that has yet to be made operational. The X-ray machine purchased in 2017 will be operational by the end of the year, the National Gallery of Ireland has said. National Gallery Director Dr Caroline Campbell said issues around the storage of the scanner led to a contract being awarded for the construction of a "dedicated lead-lined cabinet". Dr Campbell said that the manufacturing of the X-ray cabinet will "commence shortly", with the expected delivery, installation and operation of the X-ray system, before the end of the year. She added that all costs associated with it will be borne from the resources generated by the National Gallery and not from the Exchequer.
Irish Independent
26-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Arts Minister Patrick O'Donovan backs continuation of state scheme that pays struggling artists €325 a week
The BIA was introduced in 2022 as a three-year pilot project to help artists deal with precarious incomes. The first of its kind in Ireland, the BIA gives a payment of €325 per week to 2,000 artists and creative arts workers. It was massively oversubscribed when introduced, with more than 8,200 eligible applications received when it opened. With the scheme due to come to an end in August, uncertainty over the BIA's future has caused considerable anxiety within the sector. While Mr O'Donovan is understood to support its retention and expansion, a government decision has yet to be made. A new report into the scheme is set to be published this week, for which more than 50 artists were interviewed about their experience receiving the BIA. The findings of the report, conducted by independent social research consultant Jenny Dagg, were broadly positive and found it provided artists with greater financial security. It found that the scheme reduced the stress and anxiety of recipients and helped them meet their basic needs. For young and recently qualified artists, it gave them the ability to pay their rent and meant they reconsidered emigrating. The minister was clear that his ambition is to retain, extend and expand the Basic Income for the Arts Others reported the BIA gave their profession legitimacy and that it was not perceived as just a hobby or a lifestyle. Last week, Mr O'Donovan met with the National Campaign for the Arts. A senior government source said that the minister did not want to see the benefits of the scheme 'dismissed out of hand'. 'The minister was clear that his ambition is to retain, extend and expand the Basic Income for the Arts – and that individual artists should not bear responsibility for any failures of governance by people in the Arts Council,' the source said. 'The minister is determined to ensure that the social, personal and economic benefits of the BIA scheme aren't dismissed out of hand. 'Some people know the price of everything but the value of nothing. The return on investment here is worth the expenditure, anyone can see that, and the benefits for wider society are huge too,' they added. A source within the Department of Arts said the 'objective analysis of the economic impact of the scheme supports the minister's view, and shows that the overall benefit is significant for both the recipient and the wider arts sector'. Some unexpected benefits reported by BIA recipients included being given a sense of value as well as the ability to start a pension. There were some challenges noted in the research, which included those with disabilities who reported experiencing reductions in their medical and disability support. This was 'as a result of accepting the BIA payment and obstacles around accepting work that impacts welfare thresholds'. Some artists reported their relationships with other artists not in receipt of the BIA as tense and found they told only people close to them that they were in receipt of the support. Others reported they felt guilty having received the BIA, 'knowing the level of scarcity, deprivation and desperation that fellow artists operate at'. Others said an unexpected challenge of the scheme was dealing with financial insecurity if the scheme ended.
Irish Examiner
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Culture That Made Me: Tony Sheehan of Triskel in Cork picks his touchstones
Tony Sheehan, 62, grew up in Youghal, Co Cork. His arts administration career includes over 10 years' service as director of the Fire Station Artists' Studios in Dublin. He served as arts advisor to the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, and was part of the Cork 2005: European Capital of Culture programme team. In 2006, he was appointed artistic director of Triskel Arts Centre. He's a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. See: Kind of Blue My granduncle, Thady O'Shea, who lived in Knockadoon, East Cork, was a noted box player. Another granduncle made his living as a jazz saxophonist in England in the 1950s. My father and grandfather were founding members of St Mary's Brass & Reed Band. I luckily got an introduction to Miles Davis's Kind of Blue at an early age. Most young fellas were listening to AC/DC and Queen at the time. I had this other secret world going on with jazz music. It was no problem because music – and brass instruments – was in us as a family. The Cure at the Arcadia I remember going to see The Cure at the Arcadia Ballroom in Cork in 1981. What was most memorable about it was that wash of almost trance-like, complex harmonies they did; that, big hair and Cork accents. For some reason, I was transported by The Cure, but I was brought back to Cork fairly fast. Floating along, and the next thing you'd have someone in earshot going, 'C'mere to me!' ' London Calling An album that defined my teenage years was The Clash's London Calling. It was something special. I was knocking around aimlessly for most of the 1980s because Charlie Haughey's Ireland had no options for us. You either emigrated or became an artist because you might as well. Everybody was on the dole. London Calling spoke to the anger that young people felt. It's an iconic album for that time. Shortwave radio I've always loved shortwave radio stations like the BBC World Service, foreign language stations operating in Europe and English-language Chinese radio stations. Interestingly, there was a young, brilliant solo pianist Fionnuala Moynihan who played the Chopin Nocturnes at Triskel last March. When I was a kid in 1981, I used to listen to Radio Warsaw in Poland every night at midnight to the Chopin concert they'd broadcast, including the night when martial law was declared. The broadcast stopped. The next voice you heard was the military saying they'd now taken over. Then everything went dead. Paco Peña My dad was a factory worker in a Kilkenny textile mill. The guys running it were Belgian. They had no clue about the arts or music, but they were asked by the Kilkenny Arts Festival committee to sponsor a concert. So, a manager called my father from the factory floor, and said, 'You're a guitarist. Who would you like to bring to the Kilkenny Arts Festival?' He didn't hesitate: 'Paco Peña.' And so, one of the world's most famous guitarists played Kilkenny courtesy of a man who made his living in a textile factory but had a love of music that was unsurpassed. McCoy Tyner and Charlie Haden The Jazz Festival for Cork Capital of Culture 2005 is a landmark jazz festival. People still remember it because Cork's European Capital of Culture team supported bringing McCoy Tyner and Charlie Haden, those two legendary American artists, to Cork for it. I got to introduce them from the stage. Charlie and McCoy are pillars of the history of jazz. I'll never forget it. They were on the same bill. 'You want Capital of Culture? We'll give you Capital of Culture.' John Berger John Berger with Marisa Camino at the Vanguard Gallery in Cork in 2005. Picture: Cillian Kelly John Berger is one of the most influential twentieth century art critics. He made Ways of Seeing for the BBC in 1972. It influenced generations of us. John came to Cork for the Capital of Culture. He had this searing integrity, clarity of thinking and an ability to express complex thoughts. An example is his book The Success and Failure of Picasso. He said he wrote the book to keep Picasso company – that Picasso was now this completely isolated giant of visual art. John didn't pull punches in the book, which annoyed Picasso. Brian Friel When you think about Brian Friel's play Making History and his commentary about war, it brings to mind the war in the Ukraine. If you draw the two together – Queen Elizabeth is Putin; O'Neill is Zelensky, the other guy. There are all these parallels. Some of his plays aren't easy, some are dense historical works, but Brian Friel is our Shakespeare. Translations and Philadelphia, Here I Come! are still some of my favourite plays. John Potter Triskel Christchurch was launched with a full performance of a work called Being Dufay, composed by Ambrose Field. It's about the early music of a composer. It's sung by the tenor John Potter. It's a work for electronics and voice. It's extraordinary. John came to international acclaim years before. He always produces these creative partnerships and ideas that are captivating. He opened up a rich vein of music for me, especially with ECM records. John and Ambrose, when they performed Being Dufray, set the tone for the kind of music Triskel would excel at – beautiful music done to the highest of standards, something we aspire to all the time. Denis Conway Denis Conway. Denis Conway is one of our best actors, probably the most passionate actor I know. He does nothing by halves. It's his commitment as an actor that I've always admired. He loves Cork, and he has a complicated relationship with Cork [laughs] like we all do, but the actor who I think of when I think about theatre is Denis Conway. Kazuo Ishiguro Kazuo Ishiguro is my favourite novelist. I've always loved science fiction. As a kid, I was a big fan of Philip K Dick. Ishiguro is a contemporary development of his sensibility. Fans know there's often a conflict in sci-fi between what's regarded as literature and pulp. Ishiguro crosses that divide. The books are gripping. They're beautiful and poignant. They envelop you in something. Even if it's dark, every word is so finely tuned. His book Klara and the Sun is just poetry. Patrick McCabe A writer I love is Patrick McCabe. What a guy. The Butcher Boy is incredible. Patrick McCabe also has a particular sensibility around music that I enjoy. He has that unhinged view of the world, or it's not that he has it, but he's able to completely internalise seriously unhinged stuff, complete lunacy, that makes reading his novels this incredible adventure.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislature moves West Virginia libraries under tourism department
FAIRMONT — Republicans stripped the credential qualification previously required for the state's library director position this past legislative session. House Bill 2009 dissolved the Department of Arts, Culture and History and moved its functions under the Department of Tourism. Libraries, which previously were under the umbrella of Arts, Culture and History moved into the Department of Tourism as well. The bill was part of a larger effort in conjunction with two other bills that reorganized the executive branch and created more cabinet secretaries who report to the governor's office. Senate Bill 2009 didn't just move the Department of Arts, Culture and History under the Tourism Department. Sen. Bill Hamilton, R-Upshur, criticized the bill for doing away with the civil service. The bill's lead sponsor, Del. Chris Phillips, R-Barbour, did not respond to a message by press time. Marion County Public Library System Director Larissa Cason, who also serves as the elected president of the West Virginia Library Association, said the bill originated from the governor's desk. She said Gov. Patrick Morrisey was most likely thinking in terms of synergies when putting together the bill. The fiscal note summary submitted by Krysten Wolfe states moving Arts, Culture and History under Tourism would reduce state spending by around $203,000. House Bill 2009 also included a provision that removed a requirement that the state's library section director have a master's degree in library and information science and have at least three years of administrative experience. The new requirement simply states the library director 'shall be qualified, with relevant experience.' 'It's extraordinarily broad,' Cason said. 'It's just a further devaluing of professional expertise.' Cason cast this choice within the broader context of what's happening to library specialists who work at the federal level. The Trump Administration and Elon Musk's DOGE recently gutted the Institute for Library and Museum Services, and put its employees on administrative leave. The agency provides funding to the nation's libraries, including those here in West Virginia. IMLS provided $1.6 million in funding to West Virginia public libraries. The American Library Association and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on April 7 demanding the Trump Administration stop dismantling the IMLS. With the removal of professional library leadership at the federal level, Cason said the potential exists that there won't be any guidance at the state level either. 'Managing a large and diverse library system requires leadership skills and practical experience in budgeting, staffing, policy development and collaboration with local libraries and community organizations,' the West Virginia Library Association said in a statement. 'The library section director is tasked with navigating complex decisions that impact libraries across West Virginia, advocating for resources and ensuring that library services are equitable and accessible for all.' Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, argued by removing the credential requirement, it gives the executive branch more leeway to find what she vaguely referred to as the 'best individual' for the job. She said the current requirements exceed the requirements sought by the Library of Congress. She cited US Code that addresses pay rates for the Librarian of Congress and their deputy, but does not appear to deal with credential requirements. 'As the Senator said, we have many librarians to fulfill this position, but this just doesn't make it where we're excluding a highly qualified and excellent individual who can do a good job in the position,' Rucker said during the Senate floor hearing. State Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, attempted filing an amendment to restore the credential requirements. Garcia said the library section director serves over 70 libraries in the state. He argued there are many online degree options that fulfill the existing educational requirements to ensure the qualification is attainable. Garcia said a lot of people who reached out to his office about the bill said it was about respect. 'I don't think these requirement are that much to ask for somebody,' Garcia said during the bill's floor hearing. 'I think they're bare minimum. But, I also think — just the message that this sends. It just makes sense to have a librarian running or advocating for our libraries in West Virginia.'
