The board of the Abbey has concluded a special meeting this evening on the financial crisis at the national theatre.
In a statement afterwards, the board said it had been working intensively to establish a modern corporate governance structure for the theatre in place of the current company founded in 1904.
It says preparations are now at an advanced stage, and the board will be proposing a new structure to the advisory council at an early extraordinary general meeting of the company.
The board says it will stand down as soon as the transfer to the new company is completed.
The statement follows consideration by the board of an independent financial report on the theatre's future that found it had an estimated loss for last year of €1.85 million and an accumulated operating deficit of €3.4 million.
The KPMG report found no evidence of theft, fraud or misconduct at the Abbey but criticised management for not identifying factors contributing to an under recording of the operating loss for 2004 and for deficiencies in internal controls and audits.
The board says it accepts the findings of the report, which the theatre's chairperson, Eithne Healy, said had endorsed the change process underway at the theatre.
It comes after the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, John O'Donoghue, said he intends to put new governance procedures in place at the theatre which could lead to the replacement of the theatre's board.
Speaking to RTÉ News this afternoon, Mr O'Donoghue said he was waiting to see what shape the Abbey's finances were in but assured the public that the national theatre would continue in some form.
Today's special meeting comes after RTÉ News saw a letter written by a board member who says that unless the national theatre receives Arts Council funding by the end of this week, the theatre will be faced with immediate technical insolvency.
The Chairperson of the Arts Council, Olive Braiden, said earlier today that before the council could provide any more funding to the Abbey, the theatre would have to reach agreed targets.
