Cabinet meeting to announce Crawford funding

THE Cabinet will this morning clear the way for the Crawford Gallery to receive State funding as it meets in Cork to mark the city’s year as European Capital of Culture.

After being welcomed to Cork by Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin, Government ministers and the Taoiseach will conduct their weekly Cabinet meeting in City Hall before engaging in a series of cultural events in the city.

The meeting was scheduled for April but was postponed due to the death of Pope John Paul II.

Although the Cabinet agenda includes time for discussion of the proposed defamation bill, no final decision on the measure is expected today.

Other matters up for discussion include Justice Minister Micheal McDowell’s proposal that the Government welcome more programme refugees.

After several years of pressure from the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, the Government is expected to agree to increase the limit from 40 to 200 such refugees.

Mr McDowell will also seek Cabinet approval today for the establishment of an inter-departmental working group to oversee the arrival and integration of the new refugees into Irish society.

After lunch at the Crawford Gallery the Government will then announce the designation of the gallery as a national cultural institution clearing the way for it to receive direct State funding in the future.

In addition, papers and documents of the late composer Sean Ó Riada will be handed over to University College Cork by Mr Ahern at a function in UCC this afternoon, which will also be attended by members of the composer’s family.

The collection, for which the State provided €600,000 in funding, include film, correspondence, musical scores and other artifacts. The archive was bought from the Ó Riada family who had preserved it at the family home in Ballyvourney in West Cork since his death in 1971 at the age of 40.

The Cabinet will also visit the Cork Vision Centre where they will view an exhibition on Cork-based immigrants from EU accession states before visiting Jack Lynch’s former house in Shandon.

However, the Cabinet visit is also set to spark criticism and protest with local Labour TDs planning to join a protest demanding the extension of the Breastcheck service to the full Munster area.