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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 5 Feb 1998

Vol. 486 No. 5

Written Answers. - National Gallery,

John Bruton

Ceist:

39 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands when she will make a decision on whether to decommission 10 million ECUs of EU Structural Funds allocated for the development of the National Gallery in accordance with a statement by the Minister for Finance in Dáil Éireann on 19 November 1997; the policy considerations that will influence her in making the decision on whether to decommitt these funds; the implications of such decommitting; the correspondence, if any, she has had with the European Commission in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22749/97]

The matter of the decommissioning of EU Structural Funds in respect of the National Gallery project will be, as shown in the Community support framework mid-term review package statement and as announced by the Minister for Finance on 19 November 1997, a matter for review by the CSF Monitoring Committee this spring.

I assure the Deputy that the National Gallery of Ireland is as a matter of urgency examining all the options available to it in order to ensure that the EU funds allocated to this project will be utilised for a development on the gallery's Clare Street site within the Structural Funds timeframe despite the recent setback to its plans. In the event, however, that it is not possible to continue with this particular project, it is my intention to endeavour to ensure that such funds as were allocated for this purpose will be retained within sub-programme I of the Operational Programme for Tourism 1994-99 and will be utilised for other probjects which come within my area of responsibility.

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