Galway 2020 leadership to appear before the city council

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Galway daily news Call for further transparency on Galway 2020 finances

Galway City Council is due to receive a detailed report on Galway 2020 expenditure, before leadership appears before the Council next month.

The report on the Capital of Culture is due to be provided at the end of this month.

Representatives of the company will then come before the council to answer questions on June 13.

Councillor Alan Cheevers welcomed the news, saying that the public “need to see in detail” how taxpayer and private money was spent on the often troubled project.

“I believe we need see in detail how much was spent on severance pay on some of staff who left Galway 2020 employment over the the time from its inception,” he said.

Information should also be provided on expenses, and the, “cost of cancelling the opening ceremony at SouthPark,” Alan Cheevers said.

“Galway 2020 has been left under a cloud and I believe that if they want any creditable legacy these questions need to be answered in detail.”

The opening ceremony, which was meant to be a spectacular affair at South Park in the Claddagh in February 2020, was cancelled due to a weather warning.

The Galway 2020 Capital of Culture Financial Monitoring Report 2017-2021 shows that, over the lifetime of the project, it received just under €21 million in public funding from Ireland.

Galway City Council provided €3.68 million to Galway 2020, out of a total of €21 million in public funding from within Ireland.

Of that, the bulk, €14 million, came from the central government, while the county council contributed €2.95 million.

Over the lifetime of the project €14.97 million was spent on the Cultural Programme according to the project’s Financial Monitoring Report 2017-2021.

The planned European Capital of Culture 2020 was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited the number and manner of events which could be staged.