Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

These are not quangos; they are our cultural institutions and they are doing a fantastic job. Cultural tourism contributes €2 billion annually to our economy. There were more than 1 million visitors to the National Gallery last year. This is not about money, as both I and members of the arts community have stated repeatedly. They want to engage with the Minister and bring about real reforms that will generate greater efficiencies and cost savings while at the same time maintaining their independence. I reiterate what I stated last night - the National Gallery, IMMA, and the Crawford Gallery have all made submissions to the Minister's Department on how they can achieve greater efficiencies by utilising backroom services and shared resources. The Minister is on record as stating this was a good document.

We are talking about what effectively will be a Government decision. The Minister has the ideal opportunity. This is his Department, he is the Minister, the person elected by the people. I know he feels it is an honour to serve as Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. He, not any unelected bureaucrat or official, has the responsibility to drive policy in his Department. The buck stops with him and the Minister should not renege on that. It is his opportunity to pursue his policy. I do not doubt his commitment to the arts. In his election manifesto he stated he would maintain the arm's length principle in respect of our cultural institutions and he is now in a position to do so.

On this side of the House, that is all we and the people within the cultural institutions are seeking. They realise savings must be made and they cannot be exempt from any reviews. What they want, what is crucially important in the interests of our cultural institutions, is that each institution should retain its own autonomy and independence. They can only do so by retaining their own boards and directors and ensuring open competition for all future appointments of directorships of our cultural institutions.

Last night the Minister mentioned an advisory group. I became worried when I heard that. Will he propose an advisory committee of the one-size-fits-all kind, and that this one advisory committee will advise our all cultural institutions? That will not work because the board of each institution has a skill set, the scholarship and the expertise relevant to the institution of which it serves. That apart, the boards also play a pivotal role in securing sponsorship and fund-raising and at looking at ways to reduce their financial dependence on the State. This will all be lost if the Minister proceeds as planned.

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