Business to Arts Awards 2025 recognise €3.6m in business support for the arts
Corporate winners included the EPA, Drogheda Port Company, Xestra Asset Management, Henry J Lyons, and Spencer Lennox
Patrick O’Donovan
Politician
Colm Tóibín: ‘I am much less sociable now, as I don’t drink any more’
For the author of A Long Winter and Ship in Full Sail, inspiration often comes subliminally. But he has also brought his inner self to the surface through therapy
Irish exports to US surged to €75bn ahead of tariffs
Cabinet to be briefed in increase in use of DNA profiles during garda investigations
Plan to withdraw colonial artefacts from National Museum of Ireland stalls
Initial proposition centred on developing guidelines on handling items potentially illegally or unethically traded
‘Now is your time’: How Michael Healy-Rae led the push for a Heather Humphreys presidential run
Senior Fine Gael politicians are confident former minister for social affairs will not be beaten if country gets to know her as they do
Taoiseach cracks down on last-minute, ‘under-the-arm’ Cabinet memos from Ministers
Senior official twice warns Government members about timely filings of documents ahead of meetings to meet constitutional principle
We cannot police the streets if online material is not regulated
Racism in this State goes back a bit, but vile discourse online is new and most of it comes from abroad – principally the US and UK
RTÉ €725m funding could ‘distort’ media market, Irish Independent publisher warns Minister
Mediahuis tells minister to continue scrutinising cost of broadcaster ‘duplicating work’ done by commercial media
RTÉ’s Traitors aftershow: Uncloaked will be part of the new not-TV-but-on-TV genre that’s still jarring
Companion show to The Traitors Ireland will be part visualised podcast, part regionalisation push
Civil servant knew a year before Cabinet that Arts Council IT project might need to restart
Government’s chief information officer involved in advising council on ICT throughout the project
‘Now everyone is so isolated’: Closure of rural Kildare post offices hits locals hard
Villages of Moone and Narraghmore reeling, but in last decade 257 post offices have closed countrywide
Politicians come worst out of a row over An Post’s finances
Row over An Post’s finances may be a thing of nothing – but a Minister accusing an unidentified Cabinet colleague of leaking confidential information certainly is not
An Post chief ‘absolutely furious’ at Cabinet leak as Taoiseach expresses ‘full confidence’ in company
Minister for Communications denies he is source for media report and insists company is ‘very viable’ and ‘profitable’
Dozens of reforms recommended to RTÉ in wake of pay controversy have been delayed
Report monitoring implementation of two reviews of the broadcaster have been given to Cabinet
O’Donovan to visit Arts Council in wake of controversies at State agency
Data Protection Commission confirms writing to council after concerns raised about personal information collected from artists applying for grants
Public funds for commercial broadcasters in limbo over EU state aid concerns
Some €6m was set aside in Budget 2025 to be shared between Virgin Media Television and commercial radio stations
Where will vital student housing come from?
Like Ireland’s wider housing crisis, there are too few student beds available with little sign of a solution
Former Arts Council director Maureen Kennelly: ‘The Minister saw the opportunity for a scalp. I was an easy target’
The botched IT project abandoned at a loss of €5.3m effectively cost Maureen Kennelly her job. She believes the Government has unfairly discredited her reputation
O’Donovan has ‘no notion’ of abolishing TV licence fee or replacing it with tax on tech companies
Numbers paying licence fee dropped from 950,000 in 2022 to 790,000 in 2024, Dáil hears
Rathmines locals protest over An Post move to sell ‘cultural icon’ later this year
Crowd gathered outside Rathmines post office to protest against its relocation and planned sale
Arts Council was stopped three times from spending money on outside partners after botched IT project
Chair also declared conflict of interest over grant to publisher of husband’s work
Minister admonished for bringing ‘substantial’ issues to Cabinet without telling colleagues
Failed Arts Council IT project one of two issues brought to Cabinet ‘under the arm’, senior official said
Pilot scheme that pays artists €325 ‘basic income’ a week gets six-month extension
Plan for research-based scheme to be introduced as part of Budget 2026
Numbers prosecuted for not having TV licence down despite wave of evasion set off by RTÉ scandal
Drop in television licence sales continues this year
Potential new names for the Department of Arts: Smacc, Cacs, Scam and – my favourite – DoSac
Rebrand to the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport is an artless move that speaks volumes
Arts Council ‘deeply regrets’ Minister’s decision on director’s contract
Minister decides against appointing Maureen Kennelly for further five years
ComReg plans overhaul of SMS text message system to help block scammers
Public and businesses lose more than €100m year to criminals who send bogus messages
Minister did not consent to second term for Arts Council director Maureen Kennelly, PAC told
Department of Arts ‘should have called it out earlier’, Public Accounts Committee told over Arts Council’s €6.7m botched IT system
RTÉ appearance at Oireachtas committee a drab sequel to firework show of two years ago starring Ryan Tubridy
Ghost of man long gone from station lingers as management faces questions from TDs, senators about fresh controversies
Arts Council director Maureen Kennelly to stand down in wake of botched IT contract
Council is due to appear before Public Accounts Committee on Thursday concerning failed €6.7m project
The Irish Times view on basic income for artists: keep it going
precarity and low incomes are a reality of life for many professional artists
Minister set to push for extension of artists’ income scheme
About 2,000 artists have been allocated €325 a week in pilot funding since 2022
Dismay among RTÉ staffers as broadcaster hires actors to play journalists in ‘make-believe’ ad campaign
For God’s sake don’t tell Media Minister Patrick O’Donovan about this
Cork town to be first fully connected to fast broadband
Work connecting Carrigtwohill set to be completed this summer
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