My first question at today’s Municipal District meeting, ‘Can the council detail the action it took to reassure itself as to the governance of the Arts Centre after; a discrepancy of €63,000 was discovered between a loan recorded in the Arts Centre accounts as a loan from the council which did not appear in the council’s accounts; and concerns regarding conflicts of interest were raised in the awarding of contracts by the Arts Centre?

Here is the report issued by: Ms S Kavanagh, Director of Services, Economic Community & Cultural Development : As the members will be aware Riverbank Arts Centre CLG is overseen by a Board of Management. Funding provided to Riverbank is provided on the basis of a funding agreement. Kildare County Council is satisfied, as a funding partner that this funding helps to provide an excellent service to the people of Kildare. Furthermore, I wish to confirm that an audited set of accounts is provided to Kildare County Council on an annual basis and any and all payments are subject to Kildare County Council being in receipt of a valid Tax Clearance Certificate.

In relation to the 2 specific questions that have been raised by Councillor McLoughlin Healy the following responses from the Board have issued previously;

In January 2019 the Board of Riverbank Arts Centre CLG responded as follows; Report from the Board of Riverbank Arts Centre CLG:

In relation to the €64,000, as noted by our accountants, an error was inadvertently made in the accounts. To correct this, the money will be written off against reserves and will not appear in Riverbank Arts Centre’s 2018 accounts. In March 2018 the Board of Riverbank Arts Centre CLG responded as follows; In relation to the particular concerns highlighted by a constituent; the Board has advised me that they have yet to appoint an Architect and therefore no one has, as yet, been contracted to do this work. In relation to recruitment it is the policy and practice of Riverbank Arts Centre to advertise vacancies to ensure the maximum number of suitable candidates apply for positions. If the concerns relate to a particular competition then perhaps the details could be provided so that the Board can provide a more specific response. The Board have also stated that they would welcome any constituent to come to Riverbank to discuss any concerns they may have.

In conclusion, can I summarise the above by saying that the Board of Riverbank Arts Centre CLG has responded to the questions asked. The Board is the body who govern this company. Kildare County Council provides funding to this company in accordance with a Funding Agreement. I am satisfied that the terms of the Funding Agreement have been adhered to.