I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
The purpose of this Bill is to enable the Commissioners of Public Works to carry out work on the maintenance, repair, upkeep, restoration and improvement of the Chester Beatty Library. The Chester Beatty Library, situated at Shrewsbury Road, Dublin, is a private collection of object d'art bequeathed to a board of trustees for the use and enjoyment of the public by the late Sir Alfred Chester Beatty on his death in 1986. The collection, which by international standards is unique, includes treasures from European, Islamic and Oriental civilisiations — ancient papyri and clay tablets, manuscripts, rare texts, minature Arabic paintings, Chinese jade books and many other items.
Sir Alfred's legacy did not include any financial provision for the operating and maintenance costs of the library. In view of the uniqueness of the collection the State has grant-aided the library since the establishment of the trust in 1968. An amount representing between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of the operating and maintenance cost is annually grant-aided to the trust. This came to £189,000 in 1985.
As the House can appreciate, the proper maintenance and upkeep of the buildings which house the collection pose many problems. In order to ensure that many fragile and priceless objects do not depreciate, it is essential to maintain variations in temperature, humidity and light within strict limits. Because of this and the need to maintain a high standard of upkeep of the buildings themselves, the Government decided to entrust the maintenance and upkeep of the library to the Office of Public Works who have experience in dealing with similar problems over the years in the National Museum and the National Gallery. Since, however, the buildings that house the Chester Beatty collection are not public buildings, legislation is necessary to enable the Commissioners to incur expenditure on the library and the Bill provides for this.
It also contains a clause enabling the Minister for Finance to recoup to the trustees costs already incurred on certain works at the premises. These works, already undertaken by the Commissioners of Public Works and paid for by the trustees, include roof repairs and security measures. The amount involved is approximately £50,000. I commend the Bill to the House.