There have been two further resignations from the executive of the Arts Council. It was announced yesterday that film officer Ms Mary Hyland and local arts development officer Ms Susan Coughlan are leaving the council staff. Their departure follows two staff resignations late last year and the dramatic resignations early this year of two elected council members and of the council chairman, Prof Brian Farrell.
Ms Hyland has been appointed a director of the Setanta communications firm, while Ms Coughlan will return to freelance arts consultancy, as well as further study.
"People come and they go," commented the Arts Council director, Ms Patricia Quinn, yesterday. "We expect that we will have a part of people's professional life, not all of it. It's by no means a job for life."
She said the fact that the two resignations occurred at the same time was coincidental, and related perhaps to the summer break, which gave people time to reflect.
However, it is no secret that there is a high level of discontent among Arts Council staff, and inevitably these resignations will be taken as confirmation of this state of affairs.
"You know as well as I know, as well as everyone knows, that there have been problems in the council," Ms Hyland said yesterday. "And they have added to the pressures on staff."
Some of these pressures, she said, were external, such as the shortage of staff on the council, which is governed by public sector guidelines - and some were internal. Asked about the internal pressures, she said: "I feel I can't comment, quite honestly. It's not appropriate."
The bad press the Arts Council has had recently has probably not helped staff recruitment, though its biggest problem has probably been public sector levels of pay, which are, said artform director Mr Dermot McLaughlin, "poxy".
Yesterday the council announced the appointment of a drama adviser, Ms Enid Reid Whyte, now general manager of the highly successful Barabbas theatre company. Along with Ms Mary Hickey, in the new post of drama executive, and the artform director, Ms Reid Whyte will form a team that will substitute for a drama officer. The Arts Council has been seeking to recruit for this position for about a year.
Ms Quinn said that the council would reconsider the whole "structure and shape of the organisation" before attempting to fill the two positions left vacant by the resignations.
She said she would attempt to grasp the opportunity to do this, but that little change could be effected without the permission of the Minister for Finance.