Payroll cuts hit shows at City Hall venue
Officials confirmed last night that they can no longer accept new bookings for the impressive and historic venue because of a Government directive on payroll costs.
The concert hall was recently open for 10 days in a row, hosting events as part of the hugely successful Choral Festival.
This and all other regular and long-standing events will not be affected by the latest developments, officials stressed.
Earlier this year, the Government issued a directive to all local authorities to slash payroll costs by 3%.
This is being achieved in Cork City Council through a range of measures, including the termination of temporary contracts, the non-filling of certain vacancies and reductions on non-essential overtime.
It is understood that overtime for porters, who open and close the concert hall, is the main reason the city cannot take new bookings for the venue. However, security and cleaning costs have also played a role.
Fine Gael Cllr Joe O’Callaghan tried to raise the issue at last night’s council meeting, but lost a vote to have the issue debated. Speaking afterwards, he described the situation as “outrageous”.
“It is one of the most important venues in the city,” he said.
“Here we are, at a time of economic crisis, closing down one of the city’s best revenue-generating facilities.”
He said the fee for hiring the venue would far outweigh the costs associated with running it and he urged officials to find a way around the problem.
But officials said there is no other option given the Government directive on payroll costs.
“Regular and committed events in the concert hall will continue,” a spokesman said.
“The staging of events involving the incurring of overtime costs will prove a difficulty for the city council in the context of the Government directive to reduce payroll costs by 3%.”
Despite this difficulty, councillors received a report on the council’s 2008 finances which show the city made a small profit last year.
It spent €195.93 million and collected €195.97 million, giving a surplus of just over €43,000.
Fine Gael’s Jim Corr praised city officials for their financial management and for wiping out the city’s accumulated deficit over the past five years.
The report also showed that just 0.7% of the city’s entire budget was spent on paying councillors and running the lord mayor’s office.
Mr Corr said those figures should quash beyond doubt the “gravy train myth”.
