asked the Taoiseach the present position regarding the opening hours of the National Library, Dublin 2; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna— Questions. Oral Answers. - National Library.
1.
The National Library opens to the public from 10 a.m. to 5.15 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday at present. It is hoped to resume evening openings shortly when additional staff have been redeployed to the library and industrial relations negotiations with existing staff are concluded.
May I ask the Taoiseach if the original opening hours of the National Library were from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturdays? Can he say if it is the intention to revert to the original opening hours and how quickly that can happen? Is the Taoiseach aware that people who work in day time jobs and indeed, people who would have come up from the country at weekends to carry out research cannot avail now of the important research resources in the National Library because of the restricted opening hours? This is a particularly pressing problem. Can the Taoiseach say precisely what the new opening hours will be, if they will come into effect before 15 June or will it be within the foreseeable future?
I think the Deputy has made his point.
We hope the new arrangements will come in within a matter of weeks. However, I am not in a position at the moment to say exactly what they will be but there will certainly be evening openings. I agree with the Deputy that evening openings are very important. I am not so sure about Saturday because a lot of institutions do not open on Saturday any more but we will try to facilitate the public to the greatest possible extent.
The Taoiseach says it is hoped to resume the previous opening hours of the library but would he not accept that the matter is entirely in his hands and that the fundamental problem is the lack of adequate staffing in the library? Until such time as staffing is restored to what it was previously one cannot hope, presume, nor expect that the library can open for——
The Deputy is extending the scope of this question.
There are two aspects of it: one is additional staff. We intend to redeploy additional staff to the library very soon. The other aspect is an industrial relations one which has to be cleared up but I do not think there will be any undue difficulty about that.
When the Taoiseach refers to industrial relations difficulties would he not accept that those, so far as they exist, are entirely related to the absence of adequate staffing?
The Deputy is not going to draw me into industrial relations issues.
Can I finally——
I have already intimated to the Deputy that he was extending the scope of the question. He is now seeking to extend it even further.
Finally, in regard to the opening hours, there is a clear indication from what the Taoiseach is saying that Saturday does not seem to be within the contemplated restored hours. I would urge him to look at that again in view of the great number of people from the provinces and elsewhere who did travel to Dublin to avail of the library's facilities.
The Deputy is embarking on a statement rather than asking questions. Let us have a reply to Question No. 2 please.
That is an aspect that deserves consideration.
I only said I was not sure about Saturday. It is something that can be considered.