Minutes of Proceedings

The Chairperson opened the meeting, in public, at 10:25am.

1. Chairperson's business

1.1. The Chairperson advised members that mobile phones should be completely turned off during the public session.

1.2. The Clerk briefed members on issues relating to the meeting with the Minister and Departmental officials, scheduled for 10:45am on Tuesday 23 April 2002, to consult the Committee on the Department's Position Report for Budget 2002.

1.3. The Committee agreed to accept BBC Northern Ireland's invitation to meet with senior management to discuss broadcasting matters and in particular BBC NI's local output.

Dr Adamson attended the meeting at 10:29am.

Mr Kelly attended the meeting at 10:30am.

1.4. The Committee agreed to send representatives to the Cultural Tourism Industry Conference to be held in Kanturk, Co Cork from Friday 24 to Saturday 25 May 2002 andagreed that the Clerk would also be in attendance.

1.5. Members noted the Minister's letter of 16 April 2002 about the Department's plans for securing funding for improvement and development of the Public Angling Estate.

1.6. The Committee agreed the press release for the 3-day visit by the Central and Western Regional Fisheries Boards beginning on Wednesday 24 April 2002. Members were asked to confirm their attendance at the events scheduled.

1.7. The Committee agreed letters to issue to a number of Departments and Statutory Committees to follow up on progress on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Committee's report of the Inquiry into Inland Fisheries in Northern Ireland.

2. Minutes of the meeting of 16 April 2002

2.1. The draft Minutes of Proceedings for the meeting on 16 April 2002 were agreed.

3. Matters arising

3.1. There were no matters arising.

4. Draft strategic plan for 2 and 4 wheel motor sport 2002 - 2007

4.1. The Committee agreed a response to the Sports Council for Northern Ireland on the Working Group's draft 2 and 4 Wheel Motor Sports Strategy Plan 2002-2007.

5. Any other business

5.1. The Committee agreed to ask the Department for its comments on the reports of a resignation from the Northern Ireland Events Company, and to seek Departmental assurance that the Company's Board is continuing to meet and that applications for funding are continuing to be considered. The Committee also agreed to ask the Department how many applications were received in relation to proposed new appointments to the Board and when the appointments would take place.

5.2. The Committee agreed to write to the Irish Football Association in recognition of the efforts made in its community relations work and to invite the Association to discuss the content of its Football for All Strategy, which was launched on 17 April 2002 at Windsor Park.

The meeting moved into private session at 10:45am

Mr Shannon attended the meeting at 10:56am.

6. First formal reading of the Committee's report on Cultural Tourism and the Arts Inquiry

6.1. The Committee agreed to hold the reading in private session.

6.2. The Committee continued with its first formal reading of the report on the Cultural Tourism and the Arts Inquiry and agreed a number of alterations.

6.3. The Committee agreed to ask the Chief Executives of the 26 District Councils to identify their top 3 visitor attractions, in terms of numbers, and to provide attendance figures. The Committee also agreed to ask the Councils to advise on how many local/community/other festivals take place in their respective areas and to provide attendance figures.

7. Date of the next meeting

7.1. The next meeting of the Committee will take place at 10:30am on 23 April 2002 in Room 144.

The Chairperson brought the meeting to a close at 12:28pm.

E ONeill
Chairperson