A management consultant may be brought in to examine the workings of the Arts Council, its new chairman has indicated.
Retired businessman Mr Patrick Murphy said yesterday he intends to use modern business procedures to increase efficiency and reduce the workload of council members after three people resigned in under a week citing pressure of work.
Mr Murphy has replaced Prof Brian Farrell, who announced that he was stepping down last Thursday. U2's manager, Mr Paul McGuinness, and TV3's commissioning editor, Ms Jane Gogan, have also resigned. They have been replaced by Ms Clare Duignan, head of independent productions with RTE, and Dr Thomas Mitchell, provost of TCD.
Speaking outside the Arts Council headquarters in Merrion Square, Dublin, where a plenary meeting of the council was in session, Mr Murphy said he envisaged a more "directional role" for the council. He would consider bringing in a management consultant.
His comments came as sources close to the council told The Irish Times that the resignations were in part due to conflicts with other members. It is understood those who resigned thought certain members had been too closely involved with the daily work of the council executive.
This involvement and the ongoing implementation of the second Arts Plan had increased their workload, leading last year to a total of 90 meetings, either of the full council or of sub-committees. According to Mr Murphy, who begins his new job today, this was "far too many".
If the new chairman encounters opposition from council members to his suggestions he will invite them to look at other ways of working. However, he will not, he said, be overseeing the council wearing "hobnail boots".
The former chairman, RTE's Prof Brian Farrell, conceded yesterday that there had been tension on the council.
There were some "very vigorous" discussions, he said, and people had said things "in the heat of the moment" which they may not have intended to say.
Attending yesterday's meeting, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, said that the problems were now resolved. She described the mood within the council as "positive and upbeat".
She said one council member had put it succinctly by saying the current difficulties were now buried. "They will not only be buried but will be rotting."
The Minister also restated her intention, first announced in October last year, to review the 50-year-old arts legislation.
The director of the Arts Council, Ms Patricia Quinn, said the review would mean changes in the role of the executive and the role of the council. She rejected the suggestion that the council interfered in the day-to-day running of the executive. "There has been an active level of participation," she said.
Earlier, Ms de Valera thanked Prof Farrell for his service and wished the incoming chairman the best of luck.
"I'll need it all and a lot more," Mr Murphy replied.