Gavin: Opera House must be left alone to deal with crisis

THE board of Cork Opera House should be left alone to sort out its financial crisis, city manager Joe Gavin said last night.

He said it would not be helpful if councillors were to get involved at this stage while negotiations between the board and unions are ongoing.

He was speaking after Councillor Kenneth O’Flynn (FF), who last week called for the board to be suspended, called for a special council debate on the crisis facing the venue.

The board announced two weeks ago that the theatre has to close for three months, from July 4 to September 29, as part of a radical cost-cutting plan.

It is facing a €300,000 loss for the last financial year and its staff are facing wage cuts and redundancies.

Mr O’Flynn said the city council is the largest shareholder in the theatre, with a 39% stake, and he called for a full, open and frank discussion on the matter.

However, councillors voted against discussing the matter after Mr Gavin made a statement.

“We regard the Opera House as a very important piece of cultural infrastructure,” he said.

He cited the council’s financial support for the venue over the years, particularly in the last month, which included the writing off of debts, the advancing of a €1 million loan, and the underwriting of a €1.5m loan.

Mr Gavin said the board of directors, led by its interim chief executive Padraic Liston, is taking steps to put the Opera House on a sound financial footing that will assure its future viability.

“My belief is that Cork City Council should leave the management of the Opera House to its board of directors, and review it in three or four months,” he said.