A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to be present for the launch of the Journal of the Irish Society for Archives, ‘Irish Archives’, at Dublin City Library and Archive. The journals focus is on Irish medical history and the resources available for research into Irish medical history. The genesis for the journal was a workshop entitled ‘Resources in Medical History’ in University College Dublin on 21 September 2007, by the Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland at University College Dublin.
The Minister of Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr Martin Cullen T.D. was invited to launch the ISA Journal. This is the Minister who is proposing to merge the National Archives and Irish Manuscripts Commission into the National Library. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t show up. His press secretary dropped off his speech before the launch…need not have bothered really. Interestingly, a few days earlier, the Minister was questioned on the proposed merger of the National Archives and the National Library in the Dail.
Deputy Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 76, 77 and 84 together.
For the information of Deputies, it is worthwhile to set out the rationale behind the decision to combine the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Crawford Art Gallery and National Gallery of Ireland while retaining their separate brand identities, and the decision to merge the National Archives, Irish Manuscripts Commission and National Library. These decisions, which were announced in budget 2009, arose from the scrutiny by my Department of administrative costs which was undertaken earlier this year as part of the Government’s efficiency review, with a particular focus on the number of State agencies and other bodies and in the context of the ongoing oversight exercised by my Department of these institutions against the backdrop of the 2009 Estimates process…
Deputy Olivia Mitchell: I am surprised by the Minister’s reply because he appears to suggest these measures were taken in the interests of the institutions in question and to improve the quality of the product provided to members of the public. The idea for these measures emanated from the Department of Finance and is purely a money saving exercise. Why has a cost analysis not been done to identify how much money will be saved? While I am fully in favour of eliminating quangos, none of the institutions under discussion is a quango. They are the anchor institutions of Irish culture with traditions dating back to the 18th century.
To decide on the back of an envelope whether to get rid of some or merge others and then suggest that this will somehow improve matters while at the same time saying it is a good idea to invest in cultural institutions does not make sense. How is that consistent with the Minister’s capital budget for the cultural institutions being decreased by 48%?
Notwithstanding what might have to happen in the Crawford Gallery in Cork, how does the Minister intend, for instance, in the case of organisations such as the National Archives and the National Library to bring them together and somehow assume they are going to be more efficient as a result? Is there to be a new building and are they to come together on a single site? Is that the way the efficiencies and improvements are to be achieved? Does the Minister agree that these are not bloated organisations, which are overspending or overstaffed? Nothing could be further from the truth. How are the savings to be made?
