Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 10 Apr 1997

Vol. 150 No. 16

Adjournment Matters. - Leitrim County Library Headquarters.

Mr. Reynolds

I raise the issue of Leitrim County Library headquarters. I have a personal interest in this matter because at a meeting of Leitrim Council in 1927, my grandfather proposed that the headquarters be sited in Ballinamore, where they have been located since. They are the only county headquarters located in the town. Much development has taken place in the library, but unfortunately there has been no development on the construction of the building.

The development of a library headquarters project in County Leitrim has been ongoing for over ten years. In August 1992 the Department of the Environment gave approval in principle to proposals which had been submitted earlier. However, this project did not proceed due to difficulties with the court. A suitable arrangement has been worked out with the Department of Justice to build a new courthouse with a shared area which would be jointly funded by both Departments. This project is of considerable importance to Leitrim library service.

Good branch libraries have been developed in towns such as Mohill, Carrick on Shannon and Drumshanbo. Ballinamore, however, is in bad condition. Numerous projects have been undertaken by the county library service, including archives, museums, a genealogy service, an extensive local studies section, indexing newspapers and interviews with elderly people. The library has been very innovative and the operation is significant in a town the size of Ballinamore. However, working conditions for staff and the public are extremely poor. This is a most important project in library terms as it is a county library headquarters and a branch library combined, yet its project costs are quite low even in relation to branch library development elsewhere.

While realising funding available to the Department of the Environment is limited this year, I stress that the Ballinamore project has been under discussion and the subject of various submissions to the Department for many years. Although these delays were not the fault of the Department of the Environment, it should be borne in mind that this project is of long standing and should be given priority. I call on the Minister to give serious consideration to providing the much needed funds for this service in Ballinamore. I compliment our county librarian, Seán Ó Súilleabháin, and his staff who have done excellent work in poor conditions. They have been very innovative and forward thinking. If given proper facilities, the library service in County Leitrim would go from strength to strength.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise and Employment (Mr. Rabbitte)

I thank the Senator for raising this matter and giving me the opportunity to set out the position in relation to the proposed branch library and library headquarters at Ballinamore. I am sorry that the Minister for the Environment is not here this evening but he is in the US on Government business.

While the core service of libraries continues to be the supply of books, the library service has developed way beyond its traditional role and now fulfils an increasingly broad role in the life of communities generally. The local authority library service now employs over 1,300 people in more than 300 branches throughout the country. It is a service with a long and respected tradition.

Expenditure in 1996 on the public library service by local authorities is estimated to have been in excess of £32 million. For 1997, the Department of Environment has a capital allocation of £2.3 million to grant-aid library and archive developments this year. As with so many other areas of desirable public expenditure, the demand for library infrastructure far exceeds the funds available. The total estimated cost of projects on hand in the Department is in excess of £30 million.

The Ballinamore proposal is for the refurbishment of the existing courthouse building and the addition of an extension to house both court and library facilities. This proposal was approved in principle in August 1992, subject to a maximum construction cost of £200,000.

A feasibility study was then commissioned by Leitrim County Council and the Department of Justice to determine how the needs of the library service and the courts service could best be met in the refurbished building, which is of considerable architectural merit. Sketch design and cost plans have been submitted to the Department of Environment for consideration but the Department's technical advisers expressed some reservations about the plans. Revised sketch design and cost plans for the project were submitted in November 1996 and further drawings and details of costs were received last February. These show that the estimated cost of the library element has now risen to £486,000.

The latest sketch design and cost plans are under active consideration in the Department and an architectural adviser from the Department will visit Ballinamore next week. With a complex proposal such as this, involving diverse elements and different users, it is understandable that the project has to be progressed carefully. It is also clear that an agreement must be reached which satisfies Leitrim County Council, the Department of the Environment and the Department of Justice and also optimises the potential of the building. I am hopeful that the current proposals will enable an agreement of this kind to be reached.

As regards funding, the Department of Environment's capital allocation for the local authority library programme this year is almost totally committed to existing projects and it is likely that much of the 1998 allocation will be absorbed by projects already at an advanced stage. Funding of the Ballinamore project will have to be considered in this context.

The Seanad adjourned at 5.40 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 15 April 1997.