Vol. 482 No. 2
58 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the proposals, if any, she has for the National Gallery; if she has satisfied herself with the resources available to the gallery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17335/97]
Funding resources for the various institutions which come within the remit of my Department, including the National Gallery, are decided having regard to the overall financial resources available to the core collecting institutions of the State. Historically many of these institutions have not had sufficient resources to maximise their potential in the way they should in Irish society. However, within these constraints, funding provided by the State by way of separate Vote to the National Gallery including staff costs, amounts to £2.11 million in 1997. This does not include significant expenditure through the Vote of the Office of Public Works on developing the National Gallery including the major refurbishment of the north wing recently reopened to the public.
In addition the gallery is entitled to avail of a tax relief provision which is designed to encourage donations or heritage works of art to our core collecting institutions. Through this measure the National Gallery has received important donations of significant art works — the art archives of Jack B. Yeats valued at £400,000, a painting of his entitled "The Beggarman in the Shop" valued at £160,000, and works of art by James Craig, William John Leech and Jack B. Yeats valued collectively at £125,000.
Apart from the State's contribution to the income of the National Gallery, the gallery itself generates its own income from a number of sources, notably from the George Bernard Shaw and Sir Hugh Lane bequests, and from the gallery shop and restaurant. Taken as a whole the gallery has substantial resources at its disposal, although by international standards, the amount of resources must still be considered modest.
