‘Dithering’ minister finally fills vacant Arts board chair
ARTS Minister Catherine Martin has responded to growing concerns within the Coalition over her ‘dithering ministerial style’ by appointing a new chair of the Arts Council, a month after the Irish Mail on Sunday reported on the ongoing vacancy.
The minister on Friday announced she was appointing Maura McGrath, currently the chair of the board of the National Concert Hall, to succeed Kevin Rafter at the Arts Council, more than five months after he vacated the post.
The appointment was made against a backdrop of sharp criticism of the minister over a series of delays in key appointments, by Fianna Fáil TD Niamh Smyth, chairperson of the Arts, Culture and Media Committee.
Ms Smyth was commenting on the fact that just under 50% of the State boards over which Minister Martin has jurisdiction are without chairs or do not have their full quota of board members. ‘One of the key lessons we have surely learnt from RTÉ is that an effective board and chairperson is a core feature of any effectively run organisation,’ said Ms Smyth.
The issue has also been raised by Sinn Féin senator Fintan Warfield who has expressed ongoing ‘frustration and disappointment’ with the current level of vacancies on State boards under the remit of the minister.
‘According to a new response issued to my party colleague, Deputy Rónán Ó Snodaigh, almost 50% of the boards for which the minister has responsibility currently have vacancies and four of these boards are without a chairperson,’ he told the Seanad. ‘It’s particularly concerning for me that the Arts Council has been without a chair since December 2023. This is a State agency with a budget of €130million and six of its 13 board positions, including that of chair, have been idle.’
The figures secured by Deputy Ó Snodaigh reveal nine of the 19 bodies for which the minister has responsibility have vacancies. Though Minister Martin has now filled the gap in the Arts Council, it means there is now a vacancy in the National Concert Hall. The other three bodies who do not have a chairperson are the National Archives Advisory Council, Údarás na Gaeltachta and the politically sensitive Ulster Scots Agency.
Concern has been ongoing over the ‘rudderless’ state of the arts sector with one minister noting of Ms Martin that ‘the dithering ministerial style in RTÉ is symptomatic of a far broader problem’.
Sources within the arts establishment are also withering about the vacancies. ‘This is the latest example of how the only element of certainty around Catherine is her indecision,’ said one. ‘She leaves Hamlet looking decisive. In fact, she even leaves Helen McEntee looking decisive.’
Responding to queries this week, a departmental spokesperson said: ‘The Public Appointments Service has responsibility for providing an open, accessible, rigorous and transparent system to support ministers in making appointments to State boards. At any point in time, there will always be a number of vacancies on State boards given the cycle of appointments. The minister makes appointments to 19 State boards under her department’s aegis. Following the announcement of new appointments to the Arts Council on Friday, 10.4% of these State board positions (or 25 out of a total of 240) are vacant.’