The board of the Abbey met this evening to consider 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 which was founded in 1904.
It said 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 said it will stand down as soon as the transfer to the new company is completed.
Today's meeting came as RTÉ News took possession of a letter written by a board member which said that unless the national theatre received Arts Council funding by the end of this week, the Abbey would be faced with immediate technical insolvency.
The letter said without such funding the theatre would be unable to meet its liabilities, including wages, and would be required to issue protective notice to its employees.
