John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)

The Arts Council is a statutory body under my Department's aegis. It is the principal channel through which State support is directed to the arts. It is understood from the council that there are 143 works in the collection in question, which were jointly funded under the Arts Council's joint purchase scheme. These include works by Gerard Dillon, Patrick Collins, Louis le Brocquy and Basil Blackshaw. These were purchased primarily in the 1960s and 1970s, at a cost then to the council of £7,233. The total cost of these works at the time came to £14,466.71.

The Arts Council is aware of the issues arising from potential sale of these works and is in contact with CIE and the chief executive officer of the Great Southern Hotel Group in this regard.

In that context, I have asked the following questions of the Arts Council. What part of CIE's collection was passed on to the Great Southern Hotels and where are these now? Which parts of the collection were jointly purchased by the Arts Council and where are they now? Which paintings were or are now owned by CIE and where are they now? Which paintings in which the Arts Council has an interest were not offered to the State and where are they now?

The Arts Council has given my Department preliminary responses to these questions and I have asked that its efforts to establish the full facts of the matter be redoubled.

On my instructions, my Department also brought the matter to the attention of the chief executive officer of the Dublin Airport Authority in early June and asked for a full report on the matter. I understand that potential vendors are obliged to notify such intended sales to the State so that first option on such items may be exercised by the State collecting institutions. The Dublin Airport Authority has responded to my Department confirming that it will consult in full with it and the Arts Council before any decisions are taken. The DAA has also confirmed that it will comply fully with all State guidelines. I have also asked the aforementioned questions of the Dublin Airport Authority and await its full response.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

These works of art are part of our national heritage and belong, in effect, to the people. They should not be disposed of for short-term pecuniary gain and should be returned to the national collecting institutions and the OPW, who will retain them in public ownership for continued public viewing and enjoyment. The sale of these works is totally at variance with the original intent of the scheme, that being to provide a platform for Irish artists to display their works. It was never the intention of the scheme that the public bodies involved would seek to commercially exploit these works.

See this speech in context