andMr. T. Lynch asked the Minister for Finance if he will take steps, including the introduction of legislation if necessary, to acquire the Theatre Royal, Dublin for use as a national concert hall.

I do not think that the Government should take the initiative in providing concert hall premises and I am not prepared to take steps to acquire the Theatre Royal, Dublin, for use as a national concert hall. In any event, such information as I have at my disposal suggests that the Theatre Royal would be unsuitable for normal use as a concert hall having regard to such aspects as its size and operational and maintenance costs.

Is the Minister aware that the man who designed the Theatre Royal is the man who designed the Abbey Theatre, for which we have now allocated a quarter of a million pounds? The Theatre Royal has been in operation for over 21 years and in that time has been used by some of the most famous orchestras and for some of the greatest celebrity concerts in the world. If it was suitable for that, how is it unsuitable for a national concert hall?

It is a matter of acoustics.

The reason the Theatre Royal is being sold is the economic losses. In view of the fact that the jobs of over 100 people are involved, would the Minister not consider making some Budget concession to the only live cinema show in Dublin?

The Minister has collected about £15,000,000 in the past 15 or 20 years in entertainment tax and would he not now make a gesture and contribute about £1,000,000 to keeping the Theatre Royal going?

It was not all paid out of the Theatre Royal.

Let the citizens of Dublin do it.

That is the man who closed up the Gaelic League hall in Newcastlewest.