Taxpayer paid €220k shortfall for exhibition

A €220,000 funding shortfall for an exhibition during Cork’s year as European Capital of Culture had to be met by taxpayers, the state spending watchdog has revealed.

The details, outlined in a report by Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) John Purcell, are to be examined later this year by the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC), its chairman Bernard Allen said last night.

The Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, funded through City of Cork Vocational Education Committee (VEC), ran the James Barry and Airgeadóir exhibitions as part of the 2005 festivities, with the former running into 2006. The plan was they would be self-financing, with running costs covered by grants from the Cork Capital of Culture Committee, private sponsorship and catalogue sales.