Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

I wonder about the rationale behind all of this. Is it simply a cost saving exercise? Amalgamation of the Crawford Gallery in Cork, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and National Gallery appears, in many ways, a little odd. The Minister referred earlier to cultural tourism. I accept he has replied to this issue on a number of occasions but perhaps he will comment on whether co-ordination of the three cultural institutions will in some way dilute that value.

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