John Bruton
Ceist:10 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach the present position in relation to the establishment of an Irish National Film Archive.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Film Institute Archive.
The Irish Film Institute, an organisation funded by the Arts Council, have for some years past been engaged in locating, acquiring, preserving and cataloguing Irish-made films and films with Irish themes. The collection now numbers over 3,000 titles. These films include newsreels, professional drama features, amateur films, animation and documentaries.
The Irish Film Institute's film archive is located at 6 Eustace Street which is to be come the location of the new Irish Film Centre. The refurbishment of that premises is due to be completed by mid-1992 at a cost in excess of £1 million. That sum includes a contribution of £350,000 from the Arts Council and £625,000 from European Structural Funds.
Would the Taoiseach have any idea what proportion of the total film output in the period in question would be represented by the 3,000 titles in the archive; in other words, how comprehensive is the archive?
I could not say that but I think the Irish Film Institute are very happy at the extent of the archive they have been able to compile.
Would the Taoiseach inquire roughly what percentage of the output is actually in the archive and let me have that information?
I will, but I do not think it would be a very meaningful statistic.