File Management and Archiving is a shared service provided by the Department of Finance for both the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in respect of file management and paper records. In return, my Department provides ICT services to the Department of Finance which includes electronic records. There is work ongoing within the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer in my Department in collaboration with the Department of Finance to introduce a digital preservation mechanism for departmental records. This is expected to aid in the long term preservation of departmental records.
Up until recently, the Department of Finance had a member of staff who performed the duties of an archivist on a part time basis. However, the archivist retired this year and we are now reviewing our requirements in the context of electronic records and multimedia and the ongoing records management project and also to determine how best to resource this specialist role.
Guidelines have recently been updated in relation to record keeping and file storage which were issued to all staff in recent months. Training on record keeping has also been introduced in my Department as part of induction training.
The Valuation Office is currently employing a Student Archivist on an Intern basis. The Student Archivist is located in the National Archives and is involved in the preservation of Valuation Office material prior to it being transferred permanently to the National Archives. This arrangement has been in place for one year and will continue until July 2015.
It is not the practice of the Commissioners of Public Works to employ an archivist to examine records being transferred to the National Archives but it does consult with the National Archives in relation to the archiving of records from time to time.
