Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 December 2010
276 Deputy Leo Varadkar asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the remit of An Comhairle Leabharlanna; the expenditure of the agency in 2008, 2009 and 2010; the staffing level of the organisation in each such year; the members of the board of that body in each such year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45998/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn Chomhairle Leabharlanna (ACL) was established by the Public Libraries Act, 1947. The main functions of the Council, as set out, in the Local Government Act 2001 are:
the provision of advice, assistance and services to library authorities in relation to the public library service,
the making of such recommendations to, and the provision of such services for, the Minister in relation to the public library service, as the Minister may request or as the Council sees fit,
the promotion and facilitation of inter library co-operation.
Other than these core functions, ACL is also involved in a wide range of other activities and initiatives that support and/or promote the development of the public library service. These include:
managing a training and development programme for public library staff;
operating the Public Library Research Programme (PLRP);
developing online resources for Public Libraries, such as the AskaboutIreland website, including the ENFO Environmental Information Service and the Change.ie website;
collaboration with FAS eCollege in 100 Libraries serving 4,000 users;
Working Group on Library Services for Young People;
Involvement in EU Initiatives including EU Direct Information centres;
providing research resources, facilities and expertise to assist the staff and users from the public library and other library sectors.
ACL was also recently given a new statutory responsibility in relation to Public Lending Remuneration (PLR), the mechanism by which authors can receive payment for the loans of their books by public libraries. The annual expenditure of An Chomharle for 2008 was €4,383,140 while for 2009 it was €3,453,022.91. Expenditure for 2010 is not yet available. The operational costs of ACL are almost completely funded by way of statutory levy on local authorities. The ACL currently has 17 staff; it had 17 staff at end 2009 and 18 staff at end 2008.
The ACL Board is appointed in accordance with the Local Government Regulations, 1997. The current Board was appointed on 14 April, 2008. The Chairperson is Councillor Mark Dearey and the other two Ministerial nominees are Councillor Pat McMahon, and Councillor Cora Long. The remaining ten members are nominated by various bodies. The following table shows the composition of the current board (including replacements as appropriate) together with the nominating body:
|
Board Member |
Nominating Body |
|
Cllr Des Hurley, resigned 2010; replaced by Cllr Billy Cameron |
Association of County and City Councils |
|
Councillor Michael Abbey |
Local Authority Members Association |
|
Councillor Jim Darcy |
Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland |
|
Ms Deirdre Ellis-King retired 2010 replaced by Mr Pat McMahon |
Library Association of Ireland |
|
Ruth Flanagan, retired 2010; replaced by Ms Fionnualal Hanrahan |
Library Association of Ireland |
|
Ms. Colette O’Flaherty Keeper of Visual & Printed Collections, National Library of Ireland |
Board of the National Library of Ireland |
|
Mr Robin Adams Librarian and College Archivist, Trinity College |
Board of Trinity College Dublin |
|
Mr Jim Foran Librarian, IT Sligo |
Higher Education Authority |
|
Mr Paul Sheehan Director of Library Services, Dublin City University |
Higher Education Authority |
|
Ms Gerardine Moloney Librarian, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick |
Higher Education Authority |
