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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 5 Jul 2001

Vol. 540 No. 3

Written Answers. - National Archives.

Michael D. Higgins

Ceist:

37 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the progress of her discussions with the Department of Finance regarding additional staff requirements, especially having regard to comments contained in the recent report of the National Archive Advisory Council which suggested that the unacceptably low level of staffing was the greatest limitation faced by the National Archives; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20308/01]

The Department of Finance has recently sanctioned the recruitment of additional staff for the National Archives and these positions will be filled as soon as possible. It is anticipated that this initiative should help to address the staffing difficulties faced by the National Archives which were mentioned in the recent report of the National Archive Advisory Council.

Another issue which has been referred to in the report of the National Archives Advisory Council was that of accommodation. Deputies will recall the £13 million expansion scheme for the National Archives which I launched in December 1997. This development was planned to address one issue in particular for the National Archives which was the long-term storage needs. Following a report by consultants on the scope of the requirements for the adaptation and extension of the existing facilities, design proposals which had been prepared were extended to encompass the full range of activities in the National Archives and not just storage. This plan envisaged a much larger building with new road frontage and pro viding greater on-site storage and office facilities, reading and public spaces.
Discussions with my colleague the Minister for Finance have resulted in sanction to proceed with a major redevelopment scheme for the archives and the examination of the project as a potential public private partnership, PPP. An initial order of cost for the project is £45 million. This development will meet the staffing and user and storage needs of this vital institution well in the future.
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