Vol. 549 No. 4
242 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands her proposals to use the library service or other such outlets to display some of the artefacts in storage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7061/02]
243 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands if she proposes to relocate artefacts in storage to locally based or community heritage centres; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7062/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 242 and 243 together.
Heritage centres and libraries are not generally considered to have appropriate facilities for the display of original artefacts. However, the National Museum of Ireland has a well established policy of lending artefacts to county and regional museums. To date, ten such museums have been designated with my consent under the National Cultural Institutions Act, 1997.
Applications for loan of material held by the National Museum of Ireland, including material held in storage, are considered having regard to a number of factors. These include the following: the proposed use of the material must be in accordance with the terms of the loan policy of the National Museum of Ireland; the security standards of the borrowing institution must meet the requirements of the National Museum and this will normally involve an inspection of the proposed loan venue by relevant museum staff; appropriate facilities for the control of environmental conditions; specified standards of accessibility; and employment of a curator.
Artefacts in storage in the National Museum are used extensively for research purposes and particularly in the area of local and regional studies.
244 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the extent to which significant artefacts are retained in storage due to lack of display or museum space; her plans to address this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7063/02]
The National Museum of Ireland is a collecting agency and accordingly will always possess significantly more artefacts than are exhibited. However, I am pleased to say that the situation whereby important artefacts at the National Museum of Ireland have been held in storage, rather than displayed, has been greatly alleviated by the opening of the new museum facilities at Turlough Park House, County Mayo and at Collins Barracks, Dublin. It should be noted that the museum also loans artefacts to appropriate museums around the country and abroad.
The situation will be further improved when the additional facility at Collins Barracks is completed. I have taken a particular interest in the plans for the additional facility and I am pleased that an application for planning permission in respect of this facility was recently submitted to Dublin City Council.
