Reilly welcomes appointment of new interim Board for Meath Arts Centre
Sinn Féin Councillor Joe Reilly has welcomed the correspondence from the
Secretary
fo the Meath Arts Centre Conpany Ltd stating that a new interim
Board
for the Meath Arts Centre Project is to be appointed which will
include
an elected member from each electoral area in the county. This
follows
months of controversy surrounding the operation of the Meath Arts
Centre
and the County Manager's conflict of interest.
Councillor Reilly
said:
"Over the last few months I have raised serious questions
about the
operation of the Meath Arts Centre Company, which had been
set up in such a
manner as to avoid public scrutiny. I believe that the
absence of elected
representatives from the Board allowed bad practice
to go unnoticed".
"I welcome the fact that a new interim
Board for the Meath Arts Centre
Project is to be appointed which will
include an elected member from each
electoral area in the county. But
this is only the first step. The
operations of the Board must
become fully transparent and accountable to
ensure that what happened
before can never arise again. We must ensure that
procedures are
put in place to deal any potential conflict of interest. And
it
is vital that public representatives, are alert to these issues and not
let
a blind eye culture develop".
"All of our efforts must now
go towards ensuring that the Arts Theatre is
opened as quickly as
possible. It will be an important addition to the
cultural life of
Meath and it is important that it gets the best possible
start. I will
continue to scrutinize the workings of the Council and ensure
that it
works in the best interests of all of the people of Meath."ENDS