Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 November 2016
451. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if she will consider creating an enabling environment for digitisation of archives and records across all levels in the State, including cultural institutions, Government bodies, educational institutions and so on; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37096/16]
View answerDigitisation is a powerful tool to create new ways for people to interact with their cultural heritage. In recognition of its importance, the draft framework policy Culture 2025/Éire Ildánach includes "Responding to the Digital Age" as one of its 7 pillars.
The care and management of electronic records and the preservation of digital material is a challenge for the National Cultural Institutions, all of which have digitisation programmes in place. Developing approaches to digital records is particularly important for the National Archives. In 2015, the National Archives joined the Digital Preservation Coalition, an international advocate body for digital preservation, to better prepare itself for the development of a digital preservation strategy and to ensure it adopts the appropriate and relevant standards in this area.
As part of the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme, my Department funded a number of specific digitisation projects in the National Cultural Institutions, including:
- the National Library project to digitise the personal papers of the signatories of the Proclamation;
- the National Archives projects to digitise the Chief Secretary's Office: Movement of Extremists collection and the Dublin Metropolitan Police records leading up to Easter 1916; and
- the National Archives project to catalogue and prepare for digitisation the 1916 Property Loss Compensation Records and the Department of Finance Civil War Compensation files.
My Department has also supported digitising of the Irish film archive in the Irish Film Institute.
Furthermore, the Office of Government Chief Information Officer and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform are working with the National Archives and my Department on a strategy and associated plan in relation to the electronic management and preservation of digital records across the public service. I provided the National Archives with a special allocation of €150,000 in 2016 to commence work on this project and was pleased to further provide €320,000 to the Archives for 2017 to continue that important work.
All of these initiatives are aimed at providing the enabling environment to which the Deputy refers in her Question.
