Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy White for raising this matter. As he will be aware, in November 2011, the Government announced a number of amalgamations and mergers of bodies that come within the ambit of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Details of these can be accessed on the website of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform at www.per.gov.ie.

The amalgamation and merger of these bodies, including the possible consolidation of boards, raises complex issues which the Department is currently examining. In that context, the views of the various interested parties are being noted and considered.

My Department has established a high level reform committee and is liaising with relevant bodies, including the National Archives, the Irish Manuscripts Commission and the National Library, in order to implement the Government's decisions in these matters as effectively and efficiently as possible. The Minister expects to revert to Government on progress made concerning this process by end-June of this year.

Professor Diarmaid Ferriter notified my colleague the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Jimmy Deenihan, by e-mail late last evening, of his intention to step down from the board of the National Library of Ireland.

I would like, first, to pay tribute to Professor Ferriter on my own behalf and on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, for his public service not simply on the board of the National Library, but also his continuing service on the National Archives Advisory Council as well as the Government's Advisory Group on Centenary Commemorations. Professor Ferriter's remarks may be partly born out of frustration at the necessary reductions in programme funding with which all public bodies, including the National Library and our other cultural institutions, have been challenged. Unfortunately, the Government has no option in this regard and the economic realities pertaining to the public funding available simply have to be faced and overcome while exhorting our national cultural institutions to maintain the best level of public service possible. It is worth recalling, lest we lose sight of recent history, that the Government inherited an economy in serious trouble and an unsustainable Exchequer deficit. I, like other Ministers, had no alternative to the redistribution of reduced allocations to all State and cultural institutions. Day to day funding for the National Library was cut by 5.4% to €6.62 million in 2012. That is almost on a par with its 2004 allocation at the height of the economic good times. In contrast, the previous Government cut the day to day allocation to the National Library by 28% in the three years to 2011. It, too, planned to amalgamate the National Library and the National Archives.

The funding reductions in the cultural institutions are just one aspect of change that must be tackled. The Government announced its public service reform plan last November, some aspects of which relate to the National Library. Engagement and examination has been ongoing in regard to proposed reforms. The Minister met the board of the National Library earlier this year and officials of the Department are meeting jointly with the directors of the National Library and the National Archives next week to follow up on their previous bilateral consultations with each of the institutions affected. It is regrettable that Professor Ferriter was unable to attend the meeting between the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, and the National Library board or any of many official engagements by the Minister at the National Library since his appointment. The Minister was, and is always, prepared to discuss the concerns of board members in regard to any national cultural institutions, including in particular the National Library.

The engagement on the reform agenda in the Department is continuing. Last week, the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, met the chairs of the national cultural institutions collectively, including the chair of the National Library, and there was an extensive discussion on all aspects of the public service reform plan. At that meeting, the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, confirmed that he would revert to the Government on options for the reform proposals for the National Library, the National Archives and the National Museum, inter alia. It is at that juncture that final decisions will be made in regard to rationalisations, restructuring and shared services. The chairs proposed a joint paper on reform and the Minister is currently awaiting that. In the meantime, the Minister has exhorted the institutions to continue to deliver the quality public and cultural service for which they are widely recognised.

We live in times unprecedented in decades in this country. Change is unavoidable. The Minister's objective in addressing change in the sectoral areas, for which he has responsibility, is to effect it in a manner which strengthens the continuation of public service delivery by national cultural institutions, through shared back office services and necessary structural reform. In an era of diminished Exchequer capacity, that is a very serious challenge. It is a matter of regret to all of us that Professor Ferriter cannot join in addressing that challenge.

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