I have not received the final report of the interim board for the National Museum. I understand that it will be presented to me very soon and I will be taking decisions following consideration of the advice which I receive. As the Deputy will be aware, one of the tasks of the interim board is to advise me on the housing of appropriate elements of the museum's collections, including the national folklife collection at venues outside Dublin, having regard to the Collins Barracks development.
The new facilities at Collins Barracks will provide the opportunity to tell the story of Ireland in a comprehensive way, using elements of all the museum's relevant collections including the folklife collection.
Against this background the Deputy will appreciate that the statement of the director of the museum in the calender indicating that 1995 witnesses the beginning of the transfer of the museum's folklife collection to Collins Barracks is premature. I have taken no decisions regarding the permanent location of the national folklife collection in its entirety.