As I indicated in a reply to a previous question on this matter in February last, the Taoiseach has already established a national millennium committee under the chairmanship of the Minister of State, Deputy Brennan, and this committee's function is to advise the Government on appropriate projects and initiatives to celebrate the millennium.
For my own part I have provided financial support to a project, led by Poetry Ireland, for the publication of an anthology of Irish poetry from the 20th century. I believe that it is an appropriate cultural project to celebrate the literary achievements of the 20th century and will highlight the viality and the continued relevance of Irish poetry as we approach the beginning of a new millennium. I have also launched the "Ceoil Reoite: Frozen Music" millennium project which involves the commissioning of a number of distinguished Irish musicians to compose a signature tune for a selected list of national monuments and historic properties. This has been a very successful initiative with ten commissions completed to date.
Background work has now been done in the reports of the interdepartmental working group and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama on the proposed academy for the performing arts. Following on from this, I and my colleague the Minister for Education and Science will bring forward definitive proposals for the establishment of an Irish Academy for the Performing Arts in the millennium year. The creation of this new institution will have the most profound and beneficial effects on the teaching and performance of the performing arts across manny strata of society here.
I am advised that a number of programmes to mark the millennium are being independently planned by the various cultural institutions which come within the remit of my Department. The National Museum is planning to hold a special exhibition at one of its venues in the year 2000 to celebrate the millennium. The details of this exhibition are still being planned. The National Library plans to mount an exhibition in Dublin, beginning at the end of this year, on the subject of "The Turn of the Century and the New Millennium". The National Archives is planning the publication of a CD-ROM and an exhibition based on 1,000 of the most important and visually attractive documents in its collections.