Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 June 2021
216. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the manner in which Land Commission records are currently held; if his Department has sourced expertise from within or without Government to minimise any further degradation of records; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30076/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe records of the former Irish Land Commission are stored in a modern facility in Portlaoise. The warehouse is climate controlled to ensure that conditions are optimal for the storage of paper records.
In 2019, a major project to upgrade the map storage and filing system was completed. Currently,staff are engaged in a long term project to transfer Land Commission documents from their original storage boxes into modern, fireproof storage boxes. In many cases, records were still stored in their original metal boxes which over time had become damaged through handling and presented a risk to the documents within them and to staff handling them.
On appointment, Records Branch staff receive on the job training in document retrieval and handling from experienced officials. In recent years, policies have been introduced to reduce unnecessary handling of documents by restricting access to Department staff only.
Currently, the Department has not engaged external experts to assist with this process.
