asked the Taoiseach if, having regard to the impending completion of the restoration of the external fabric of the Custom House, Dublin 1 he will recommend that the entire building become the new home of the National Museum having regard to the present unsatisfactory arrangements for the museum and the fact that the internal office accommodation within the Custom House is below standard and will require substantial modernisation in the near future in order to have it comply with modern requirements; his views on whether in the context of the redevelopment of the Custom House Docks area the relocation to the Custom House of the entire museum collection would consolidate the use of the Custom House and reinforce the overall development of that sector of the city; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Custom House, Dublin.
Present plans for the Custom House centre around its use as the headquarters for the Department of the Environment. The transfer of the Department of Health to Hawkins House and of certain sections of the Department of the Environment to Ballina will allow the relocation of several other sections of the Department of the Environment to the Custom House, thus improving the effective discharge of that Department's business.
At present, the National Museum of Ireland is principally accommodated in Kildare Street and Upper Merrion Street with ancillary accommodation elsewhere. It is recognised that existing accommodation must be upgraded and additional space provided. For this reason, a significant amount of additional space at the Custom House Docks has been allocated to enable the creation there of a Museum of Decorative Arts and a Folklife Museum. In addition, an allocation of £360,000 is being provided from national lottery proceeds in 1988 to renovate the Kildare Street building and a further £100,000 is being allocated to renovate the Natural History Museum in Upper Merrion Street. It is proposed to continue this work in future years as resources permit.
It is considered that these initiatives will adequately address the accommodation needs of the museum and, in the circumstances, it is not, therefore, necessary or appropriate to consider its relocation to the Custom House.
The developments at the Custom House Docks, including the establishment there of the financial services centre, the museum developments and the National Sports Centre, will obviously provide a major catalyst to sympathetic development in the vicinity, including the area around the Custom House.
I thank the Taoiseach for his comprehensive reply and for the information he has given but I would draw his attention to the fact that in 1992 we will be celebrating the bicentennial of the construction of what is perhaps our finest public building in the city. In accordance with the minimum office standards required the entire inside of the Custom House will have to be substantially altered and a lot of money will be spent distorting the historical shape, internally, of a unique public building. If the Taoiseach agrees with that brief description will he reconsider the long-term future of the Custom House? I am not looking for an immediate response but there will be many alternative office buildings in the vicinity of the Custom House and there is only one Custom House. Will the Taoiseach agree that the matter would be looked at in a more imaginative way than has hitherto been the case?
That sounds possible. I will certainly think about what the Deputy has said. I had an idea once for a different type of building not very far away becoming the artistic and cultural centre of Dublin but, of course, the Deputy will bear in mind that when Gandon designed the Custom House, he designed it as an office.
Would the Taoiseach agree that when Gandon designed the Custom House the working conditions of office staff were not at a level which is now required by law? Indeed, if one were to seriously examine the standards now prevailing in the Custom House, they are probably technically below the minimum office standards.
There was no railway bridge in front at that stage and it does not add to the beauty of the Custom House. Would the Taoiseach like to congratulate Deputy Quinn on his brilliant and imaginative idea, put before the House this morning?
The Deputy means this afternoon? I was not here this morning. What did Deputy Quinn do this morning?
What Deputy Quinn did some time ago — the Taoiseach would probably be interested to learn — was to have a discussion on this matter with Deputy Barry who is the originator of this idea and I acknowledge that.
I have already acknowledged that there is imaginative merit in the Deputy's proposal.