Minister announces details of external review into Arts Council following failed €6.675m IT project

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Patrick O'Donovan has shared details of an external review into the Arts Council.

Initially announced earlier this month, the review arrives after a report revealed €6.675m was spent on a failed IT project, which Minister O'Donovan says has "has given rise to fundamental questions about governance within the Arts Council.'

"I have been clear that these governance failures must be addressed quickly in order to safeguard public funding and to prevent a recurrence of issues of this kind," he said in a statement.

The external review is set to be conducted by an Expert Advisory Committee, comprising Professor Niamh Brennan (Chair), Dr. Margaret Cullen and John McCarthy, who were described as "three experts with a strong background in the governance of large and complex organisations."

As part of the process, the committee can make recommendations to the Minister on any required reforms to the Arts Council's governance framework, culture or legislative basis, or in relation to any issues in the governance relationship with the Department.

Elsewhere, Minister O'Donovan called for the Arts Council to be "open and transparent" at all levels, adding that his goal was to "restore trust and confidence" in the organisation.

The Fine Gael TD also said that his department has written to a number of bodies, seeking details on projects costing over €500,000 which were similarly "abandoned or have materially failed to deliver."

According to a report earlier this month, the Comptroller and Auditor general approved spending €5.3m to develop an IT system for the Arts Council, which was intended to help process funding applications and grants. However, no benefit has accrued from the large-scale investment, which escalated by a further €1.375m.

Minister O'Donovan expressed his "deep concern" about what he called the "governance failures" that allowed this expenditure to mount. He also referred to the "significant" funding received by the Arts Council, which has increased to €140m for 2025.