Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 20 Sep 1995

Vol. 455 No. 8

Written Answers. - Irish Women's Archives.

Noel Ahern

Ceist:

125 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht if he will make a statement on the Irish Women's Archives, Dublin Castle, outlining the purpose of its establishment; the reason it is not included in the National Archives, Bishop Street, Dublin 8; if the Irish Women's Archives has the full support of professionals in the historical and archives sector; the financial resources and staffing made available; the structure of the management board and executive; and his future plans, if any, in this regard. [13168/95]

Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht (Mr. M. Higgins)

I understand that the Irish Women's Archive and Resource Centre Limited is an independent private entity formed as a company limited by guarantee in 1994. In making its submissions for grant assistance to my Department it submitted an intention of investigating the feasibility of creating an enabling body to collect and store records of sources revealing the experiences of women within society, to provide access to these records for educational and research purposes, and to provide an educational, information and publicity service on women's resources, associations and individuals.

I provided a special grant of £50,000 in 1994 to facilitate an examination of the feasibility of the project. Subsequently in this year's budget a further grant of £100,000 for the organisation was announced by the Minister for Finance. The statutory collecting function of the National Archives is not affected in any way by the establishment of this organisation. The structure of the management of the company is a matter for the company itself.

While the Department has made no commitment to funding the organisation on a continuing basis I will examine any funding requests within the overall framework of the funds available to me, taking into account the proposed work programme and the broader context of policy in this area, including the roles of State collecting institutions, and other institutions collecting cultural items. While it would not be appropriate for me to comment on how professionals in the historical and archives sector might regard the organisations, any views expressed to me on the matter will be taken into account in this examination.