Vol. 439 No. 3
30 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the additional staff, if any, being appointed to the National Museum in conjunction with the provisions of his National Monuments (Amendment) Bill, 1993.
No additional staff are being appointed to the National Museum arising from the provisions of the National Monuments (Amendment) Bill, 1993. The primary purpose of the Bill is to give statutory expression to the State's right of ownership of archaeological objects found in the State with no known owner.
However, I should say that I believe the National Museum to have been under-resourced on both the staffing and financial fronts down through the years. I am at present formulating legislation to establish autonomous boards for both the National Museum and the National Library and I have recently circulated proposals to my Cabinet colleagues for comment. I hope to be bringing my proposals to Government at an early date.
I will also be establishing an interim board for the National Museum at an early date to advise me on a number of urgently critical issues facing the museum, including staff numbers and structures for the future. In conjunction with these developments, I would hope to secure the agreement of my colleague, the Minister for Finance, for staff levels and structures in the museum that are commensurate with the role of a national institution of such importance.
