Vol. 490 No. 6
25 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands whether an inventory has been carried out on the artefacts available to the National Museum but not on display; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10772/98]
In order for the National Museum to properly manage its collections, and not just for reasons of display, it is necessary that all its artefacts be documented and that an easily accessible record of these collections be in place. In the past such documentation systems have been largely paperbased and were not always maintained in a consistent manner. In recognition of the needs in this area, a programme was initiated in 1995 to prepare a computerised inventory of the National Museums collection, focusing in the first instance on those objects in the art and industry collection due to be transferred to the new National Museum facility at Collins Barracks. This inventory of artefacts which is a long-term process of properly documenting all of the records relating to the museum's extensive collection, is ongoing at this time. I am pleased to say that to date over 32,000 items have been included in the inventory.
I look forward to sustained progress in this most important aspect of the National Museums activities in the future, and I am confident that with the records thus created, it will be possible to make available to researchers and the general public alike, a wider range of information regarding the collections of the National Museum.
