Irish Shows Association responds to €2,000 cut for agricultural shows - including Tullow
They have issued a statement
The Irish Shows Association has issued a statement after reports that the Government has cut grants for agricultural shows by €2,000 for the majority of them across the country - which includes the Tullow Agricultural Show held in August.
Read also: Government cuts grant for agricultural shows - including Tullow - by €2,000 for this year
A Parliamentary Question by Fianna Fáil's Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring, for the funding provided to agricultural and industrial shows for 2015 to 2018 and to date in 2019.
Minister Ring outlined the funding allocated to agricultural shows via the Irish Shows Association which revealed that Tullow received €7,000 in 2018 but this had been reduced to €5,000 for 2019.
Now the ISA says it wishes to clarify some points raised in a recent article and subsequent Dáil question.
They said: "The Irish Shows Association wishes to reiterate our sincere gratitude, on behalf of our 120 eligible member shows, for the allocation of €600,000 in funding for 2019.
"This came on top of €812,000 in 2018. This is a significant amount of money and underscores Minister Ring's and his department’s commitment to rural communities.
"The Irish Shows Association works closely with Minister Ring and his office to ensure the fairest possible distribution of this funding.
"This grant allows shows to invest in developing their grounds, in safety equipment, in IT systems etc. helping them to strengthen for the future in a changing society.
"Any show organiser will tell you that all funding and sponsorship is received gratefully and every donation of whatever value is appreciated by the volunteers who work to continue our traditional shows.
"We suggest that instead of focusing on a perceived cut in funding of €200,000, people would be better served to focus on the increase in funding of €1,412,000 since 2017."
In response to the Parliamentary Question, Minister Ring said: "In December 2017, I first announced an allocation of funding of €812,000 to the Irish Shows Association to support almost 120 agricultural shows around the country which were due to take place in 2018.
"This was intended to be a once-off payment, in recognition of the difficulties which many shows had experienced in previous years due to bad weather and increased insurance costs.
"Each show was eligible to receive up to €7,000 from the Government in an effort to support these important rural community events."
Minister Ring added: "The investment was carried out through the Irish Shows Association and the recipients were all members of that Association.
"Having seen the positive impact of the investment in the shows and having regard to the funding available within my Department, in August 2018 I announced a further allocation of €600,000 to the Irish Shows Association to support shows due to take place in 2019.
"Each show was eligible to receive up to €5,000 from this allocation.
"Funding for Agricultural shows is provided on an exceptional basis and depends on the availability of funding in my Department’s overall budget from year to year."