The long, and increasingly controversial, saga of the Solas Arthouse Picture Palace Cinema, has taken a step closer to completion with this morning's announcement that the Government has provided additional funding of €735,000 towards the project.

The funding is being allocated by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys to Galway City Council in a partnership between the Council, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Solas Picture Palace Limited. The Department of Arts has provided funding of €1.9 million to date for the new three-screen art house cinema which will have a capacity for 329 people and will include a cafe and bookshop.

The funding has been welcomed by Fine Gael Galway West TD and chair of the Fine Gael Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Committee Sean Kyne, who said the grant "will help ensure the completion of this cultural facility for Galway which will serve both locals and visitors".

Dep Kyne also argued that the funding is "a major boost to Galway's creative economy" and that the Picture Palace "will join" the Galway International Arts Festival, the Galway Film Fleadh, Druid Theatre, and the UNESCO City of Film designation, "in strengthening our city's bid to become European Capital of Culture for 2020".