Vol. 441 No. 1
28 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the plans, if any, he has for the promotion and further development of heritage, including the 37 computerised reference centres and the clans of Ireland, both of which appear to be at a crossroads in view of the lack of funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I have been assigned responsibility for the formulation and development of policy in relation to heritage and I will be bringing forward plans and legislative proposals during the currency of this Government for the better protection of our heritage. The National Monuments (Amendment) Bill is at present before the Dáil having been passed by the Seanad and I hope to introduce a Bill in the near future to establish the National Heritage Council on a statutory basis. Other items of legislation are in course of preparation.
On the question of the computerisation of family history records throughout the island of Ireland, the Irish Genealogical Project, I understand that a company, Irish Genealogy Limited — representative of the local genealogy research centres, the independent genealogists and the public interest — was incorporated late last year to develop the project as a business enterprise.
