Consultant chosen to review Temple Bar Cultural Trust

DUBLIN CITY Council has appointed an independent consultant to undertake a review of Temple Bar Cultural Trust.

The review, which will focus on issues of corporate governance, board representation, and an examination of the basic economic model underpinning the entity, will be undertaken by Lucy McCaffrey of Latitude consultants.

An interim or full report into the cultural trust is expected to go before Dublin city council in June.

The appointment of Ms McCaffrey follows a decision by Dublin city manager John Tierney last March to initiate a review of the trust after a motion to move the entity under the direct control of the council was tabled at a council meeting.

Now in its 20th year, Temple Bar Cultural Trust is a successor to Temple Bar Properties, which was founded during the regeneration of the Temple Bar area of Dublin in the early 1990s.

The trust, which organises cultural events in Temple Bar, is an independent entity whose main shareholder is Dublin City Council.

Its primary source of income is rent from properties in Temple Bar but it has been involved in a number of rent disputes with tenants in recent times.

The review will examine a number of issues including: whether the board is complying with best corporate governance standards; if the current board representation is appropriate to the activities of the trust, particularly in light of the changing property environment; and whether the trust fulfilling its brief as a cultural promoter and enabler.

The review will also examine if the current system whereby the trust funds itself through rental income from properties in the Temple Bar area, represents good value for money for the city Council.

Current staffing arrangements will also be examined.

Temple Bar Cultural Trust is governed by a 13-member board of directors appointed by the city manager.

It includes councillors, representatives from the arts and cultural sector and a representative from the Temple Bar business community.