Galway City Council is to commission an independent commercial appraisal of the operation of the Pálás cinema, which is due to close next month.
The three-screen facility has been operated by Element Pictures since it opened in 2018. Last month, the company announced it would cease operations, citing mounting operating losses.
The building was constructed on a site donated by the City Council at a total cost of over €8.4 million. Construction was funded entirely by the taxpayer.
Element Pictures agreed to run the cinema for a nominal lease in 2016.
This afternoon's meeting of the local authority was adjourned for a short time, after protesters entered City Hall to demonstrate over the closure plans.
They have called on the Council to guarantee the continued existence of the cinema as a hub for the creative and artistic community in Galway.
During a subsequent discussion on the future of the building, several Councillors were critical of correspondence sent to them in recent weeks, saying it was disrespectful in tone.
Many members said the Council could not be put on the hook to bail out the facility.
Mayor Peter Keane said the cinema was a "real gem" in the city’s cultural offering and that the Council had a duty to protect the investment of more than €8 million in State funds that had paid for the development.
He called on the executive to engage with all parties to ensure the cinema could stay open.
In response to a query from Labour’s Niall McNeilis, the Council CEO reaffirmed the importance of the cinema and the authority’s commitment to Galway’s status as a UNESCO City of Film.
Leonard Cleary said engagements had been ongoing between all stakeholders for a number of months, in an effort to secure the future of the Pálás. But he said the autonomy of the commercial operator had to be respected.
The meeting heard that the lease is still intact and that the Council has not yet been given formal notice of an intention to cease the agreement.
Meanwhile, representatives of an entity established in the aftermath of the City’s European Capital of Culture designation are to be invited to next month’s Council meeting, to answer questions about the company.
It follows concerns from a number of Councillors about the operation of Galway Cultural Company, its role, and the manner in which it is funded.
