asked the Minister for Finance if he will state (a) the amount of the State grant paid to the Abbey Theatre Company each year, and (b) the number of performances played by the company for the year ending 30th September, 1958, in (i) Dublin and (ii) the rest of the country.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Abbey Theatre Company.
As regards (a) of the Deputy's question, the amount of the annual Grants-in-Aid paid to the National Theatre Society Limited in respect of the operating expenses of the Abbey Theatre has been for some years past £8,000, as will be seen from the Estimates and Appropriation Accounts (Vote 21—sub-head B).
In the year 1957-58 a special additional Grant-in-Aid of £10,000 was voted in a Supplementary Estimate to enable the society to wipe out accumulated debts. In the same year a sum of £26,000 was voted for the society, also by way of Supplementary Estimate, towards the cost of acquiring adjoining premises required for the site of the new Theatre. These grants were non-recurrent.
I have no functions in relation to (b) of the Deputy's question and am not, therefore, in a position to give the required information.
This House is entitled to know what the Abbey Theatre does with the money and how many performances they give. It is supposed to be a national theatre but as far as the people down the country are concerned it is confined to Dublin.
That is a separate question.