Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No. That painting dates back to the War of Independence. The Bank of Ireland donated pieces to IMMA in 2010. We have received a large number of pieces from those three banks. Various artists benefited from the purchase of their work. When the banks were profitable and properly run, they were great supporters of Irish artists. I am trying to encourage other companies and businesses to do something similar by supporting artists and buying pieces from them and there has been a response to that request. They are buying pieces from emerging artists as well as from the big names.

Deputy Kitt mentioned the cultural programme which was very well received. An investment of approximately €3 million funded 400 events in Ireland and all over Europe. A major event was held in Berlin which was attended by 1,200 people and received rave reviews. I attended the opening event of the cultural programme which featured The Gloaming. People were spellbound by the music of The Gloaming, Martin Hayes and Iarla Ó Lionáird. This was a European audience but they were very impressed with the quality of the Irish music and the sean nós singing. Half a million people went to the Eileen Gray exhibition in Paris and there was also great interest in the Francis Bacon exhibition in the Musée des Beaux Arts which I opened. I thank the artists and Culture Ireland, Christine Sisk and all her staff, for organising a very good cultural programme in what are challenging circumstances. The artists benefited from the programme and also the country benefited. The funding of €3 million was a considerable reduction from the funding levels of 2004 but we got very good value for our investment.

Deputy Kitt referred to Solas in Galway. This is proceeding in stages. There is an issue with local funding. I have been in discussion with the local promoters. It is hoped the matter will be resolved in time but there will need to be more of a contribution from the city of Galway because this project costs €8 million and the city will be the main beneficiary. Deputy Sandra McLellan referred to subhead A7 and to capital expenditure in that area. Places such as the Athlone art gallery benefited to the tune of €500,000; Dublin City Council artists' studios; the Garage Theatre received over €500,000 last year. Some funding has been allocated for this year, including to Na Píobairí Uileann. I can provide the Deputy with a list of our contributions. The art and architecture of Ireland project received €100,000.

The Theatre Royal in Wexford was allocated €30,000. It is an extensive list, all of which, in my view, represent money well spent. They are important and sustainable projects.

Deputy Catherine Murphy asked about the commemorations programme, in which I am aware she has a great personal interest. It is fair to say that the decade has been marked very comprehensively to date. The failure by large sections of the media to give coverage to those commemorations is a separate issue. We had several events to mark the anniversary of the passing of the Home Rule Bill, in Iveagh House, the House of Commons and Waterford City Library. That issue did receive some coverage; The Irish Times, for instance, produced a special supplement on the Home Rule Bill and RTE broadcast a number of relevant programmes.

It is probably true to say that people are more interested in the present than in the past. However, our efforts in this regard are continuing. We are promoting the commemorations programme through the website, Century Ireland, which had received, at last count, more than 100,000 hits. I do not have the up-to-date figure, but it has been a great success in a short space of time. If one wants to know what happened 100 years ago this week, the website will link to articles in various newspapers and to commentaries by recognised historians. It is a very useful resource.

As the Deputy knows, several important anniversaries are fast approaching. In the case of the Dublin Lock-out, for example, there has been a great deal of preparation in conjunction with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, which has included restoration of tenement buildings in Henrietta Street. We also have plans to commemorate the establishment of Cumann na mBan next April and, this coming November, of the Irish Volunteers. I am confident we will commemorate these events properly. There will obviously be a major build-up to 1916. The anniversary of the Easter Rising will be very much a flagship commemoration, with a focus not only on the military event itself, but also the whole cultural movement which inspired that event. Preparations are already under way in this regard. The Department has facilitated interviews - more than 60 thus far - with the descendants of participants in the Rising, which are very revealing. Very few children of those people are still alive, but we have spoken to grandchildren and other family members. We intend to bring all the families together in Dublin Castle in November. Some of the participants in 1916 went their separate ways following the unfortunate split in 1923, but they were all together in the GPO. It is very important that everybody feels part of the commemorations, which is something that can easily be achieved with good will on everybody's side. The Dublin Castle event will be the launching pad for our programme of 1916 commemorations, and members of the 2016 Oireachtas Commemoration Committee will be invited to attend.

Deputy Murphy also asked about efforts in the area of digitisation. As she is probably aware, work is under way on the letters from the leaders of 1916 to family members. Dr. Susan Schreibman, a foremost digital expert based in Trinity College, presented a proposal to the Department in this regard and we have agreed to provide the modest funding. It is one of several digitisation projects happening at this time. The Deputy's query regarding the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland will be addressed in legislation I present in the autumn session. We hope to begin preparatory work very shortly on the digitisation of the 1926 census. The difficulty is that there are legal issues regarding the publication of those data, if not for which we would have made more progress. The Central Statistics Office has concerns regarding the implications for census-taking in the present if the data are published. That creates a problem but does not prevent us from taking down the boxes and having the documents digitised. We hope to start the process very soon.