Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses here today. It is a pleasure and a privilege to hear about their work and to listen to their belief in what they do, and I believe in what they do. I was at the European Parliament with my colleague about a month ago for the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 and it was interesting to hear about the number of countries where their wonderful heritage and religious sites are being desecrated. In one country it was mentioned that such a site had been turned into a supermarket without the knowledge of the people. When coming away I felt we had a better sense of preservation and at least we had a conversation about it. I agree with Ms Kelly and Mr. Starrett that the arts, culture and heritage play such an enormous role in who and what we are, and they are above politics. The theatre is the one place the truth can be found out and it is also the one place within the arts, culture and heritage in which the truth can be explained and highlighted in a way that is beautiful, balanced, majestic and artistic. Sometimes people around here think there are no votes in the arts and that this is the wrong committee to be on, but it is the right committee to be on because the arts is the greatest sense of expression of the self.

I was interested in what the witnesses said about North-South in terms of the arts and culture. We should consider what people such as Seamus Heaney did for culture and language North and South. People like James Clarence Mangan, Thomas Moore or any of the great artists from North or South or Palestine and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra never thought of who and what they were, they just thought of the arts, culture and heritage.

What does the Local Authority Museums Network think of the National Museum of Ireland? The witnesses from the Local Authority Museums Network looked awfully sad up there. Does the Local Authority Museums Network have issues it would like the National Museum of Ireland to address or get involved in? Will the witnesses from the Local Authority Museums Network mention one or two things it would like to do together with the National Museum of Ireland or that they are doing together?

Everything is now under the canopy of "culture" and that term has to be used. Can the National Museum of Ireland tell me what the Government and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is doing or not doing to help it? I do not mean this question in an accusative way but what are gaps the National Museum of Ireland would like to see filled? In the Heritage Council, one of the gaps is the issue of a vacancy it has not been able to fill.

Will somebody tell me why the wonderful Michael Davitt Museum in Straide is not open? We talk about that every time I pass by.

Will the witnesses talk about the lack of legislation generally within the museum structures? Sometimes I feel the museums are better off without it and that they should get on with it themselves because their rapport is excellent.

Please feel free to answer me generally. It is important for us to hear about the museums' great work and we are really a conduit to where the power is. Do not leave without telling us what is needed or where the gaps are. There were many speeches but I need to know what we can do to highlight these issues for the museums, the route we need to go down to help them get what they feel is necessary and then we might be listened to. I also refer to the co-operation and synergy between the museums even though I hate the word synergy.