Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)

Part of me is incredulous that the Minister has come up with this idea, because I know his commitment to the decade of commemorations and his chairing of that committee. I know his support for our cultural institutions and commemorating our history and I find it difficult to believe this proposal is coming from him. These are perfectly functioning institutions and he is treating them as if they were broken when they are not. They have been doing fantastic work since they were set up.

There are two areas where Ireland's reputation is superb, namely, our development aid budget and our arts and culture. Instead of this being a cultural discussion, it will be cultural domination. In 1974, there was an interdepartmental report on the idea of a merger and it came up again in 2008. The reasons given for not going ahead with it then are still valid today. The main reason was the disciplines involved are very distinct. The National Archives has a statutory function which means legislation will be required to deal with any possible merger. The Minister spoke about consultation but the impression I am getting from people in the arts is that there has been no meaningful consultation. Why consult if this is almost a done deal and ready to go to Cabinet?

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