A LONG-DELAYED independent review into governance and policies at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin has found “significant failures” of record keeping and “unclear governance frameworks”.

The review by consultancy firm Crowe Ireland focuses on the period from 2019 to 2021 and sought to sought to identify gaps related to internal controls (HR, legal, financial), governance, and stakeholder management “with a view to strengthening internal policies and procedures”.

This review was due to be completed within eight weeks but ended up taking over two years.

The Crowe Ireland review was commissioned by the Abbey Theatre as a condition of funding from the Arts Council, following the Arts Council commissioned Mazar’s report.

According to the Irish Times, that Mazar’s report showed the Abbey Theatre spent €693,000 on costs associated with “HR investigations” and termination payments for its former co-directors, Graham McLaren and Neil Murray

The Crowe Ireland review investigated events during the tenure of the former co-directors Murray and McLaren, who both departed in 2021.

In January 2019, more than 300 members of the Irish theatre community signed an open letter criticising Murray and McLaren.

The letter claimed that the freelance theatre community had been “cast adrift”.

In March of 2019, three former employees of the Abbey Theatre then lodged complaints about incidents involving McLaren.

File image of Neil Murray and Graham McLaren Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

Citing GDPR and contractual restrictions, the Abbey Theatre said it could not publish the Crowe Ireland report in full.

Instead, it published twelve findings and six recommendations set out in the Crowe Ireland report, as well as a summary of key actions already taken in relation to the recommendations. 

While the report was intended to take only eight weeks to complete, Crowe said the Abbey Board “did not contribute to the delay” and that some of it was Covid-related and also related to the sickness absence of some involved in the process.

It found there was an “unclear governance framework” that the Abbey “needs to resolve on an urgent basis”.

It also found that the Abbey “failed to adhere to its own Constitution with regard to the re-appointment of a Board Member”.

“This individual played an important role in the committee dealing with the complaints, for a period of more than one year, whilst he was no longer a member of the Board,” said Crowe.

The review also found “significant failures” by the Abbey in “dealing with the complaints to keep adequate records of meetings regarding the investigation” and that no notes of two committees established to deal with these complaints.

The first of these committees has “no terms of reference agreed, no recording of discussions or decisions in writing, and no effective means of keeping members of the Board fully informed”.

Crowe said there was “no reason for a publicly-funded body to not keep adequate records” and that all Board business should be “properly documented”.

The Company Secretary / Director of Finance and Operations was also not informed by the Board of the existence of the first committee and Crowe Ireland said the involvement of the chair of the Abbey Board in both committees “left the Board with no independent final arbiter”.

Issues were also found with engaging with insurers, and one former senior member of the executive was still responsible for engaging with the insurance broker for at least nine months after he had left the Abbey.

For reasons which Crowe said were “unclear”, this responsibility did not appear to have been handed over to a successor.

This led to “considerable confusion as to what cover was in place”.

There were also taxation issues in relation to termination payments.

In 2022, Revenue Commissioners began raising queries in respect of the termination payments reported by the Abbey in 2020 and 2021, and found that certain tax liabilities needed to be met.

The Abbey then sought further advice from a new tax consultant, who recommend the tax on the settlement payments be treated as Capital Gains Tax rather than income tax liability, and that the legal fees were not taxable, after which Revenue Commissioner agreed to close the matter.

Following the report, Crowe Ireland said it was mindful that individuals involved in dealing with the investigation into the complaints are no longer involved with the Abbey and that there are new people on the Board who were not involved in these matters.

It recommended that an “independent audit of Board culture be conducted to determine whether these issues persist, given that here has been turnover of personnel at both Board and Executive levels”.

It also recommended that the Abbey Theatre and the Arts Council “consider collectively the findings and work together to ensure there is a positive and constructive working relationship between the two organisations”.

Crowe Ireland also said there needs to be “a clear line on whose responsibility it is to engage with insurers” and that the Abbey should “develop a set of governance policies and protocols which match the requirements of the Public Spending Code”.

In response, The Abbey said all Board meeting are now “fully recorded” and that surveys are undertaken after each meeting.

It added that responsibility for insurance cover now rests with Executive Director and the Director of Finance and Governance.

The Abbey also noted that an organisational Culture Audit was undertaken by DCU in late 2023 and the Executive of the Abbey Theatre is working through the implementation of its findings.

In a statement today, the Board of the Abbey Theatre said it accepts the findings accept and is “mindful of its responsibility to provide accountability and transparency in its governance arrangements and their application”.

It described the review as “detailed and thorough” and has agreed to a “monitoring and implementation plan” around its recommendations.

Co-Directors of the Abbey Theatre, Artistic Director Caitríona McLaughlin and Executive Director Mark O’Brien said it’s “been a challenging time and we now look forward to working with the Board on their implementation” of the recommendations.

They also described the report as an “opportunity for us to reset and to bring renewed energy to our mission”.