Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. I am conscious that a number of Deputies want to speak about this matter. It is with considerable frustration that we are returning to this issue today. I am sure the Minister is frustrated that this issue is not going away. Fianna Fáil is committed to the principles set out in the Arts Act 2003, which established the arm's length principle in legislative form. We are concerned that the slash and burn approach, which has not generally been a characteristic of the Minister's political approach, may well lead to the achievement of false economies. There is a risk that these changes will save little financially while delivering a major cost to the State in terms of its cultural institutions.

It is clear that the abolition of the boards and of Culture Ireland, so that these areas can be brought under the direct control of the Minister, is a departure from the arm's length principle. The Minister, Deputy Deenihan, is respected and trusted by people in the arts and heritage sectors, and rightly so. He will not always be the Minister, however. We cannot be certain that the person at the helm in the medium and long terms can be trusted to ensure the arm's length principle is observed. In the event of a Cabinet reshuffle, the Minister's important brief might be taken by someone in respect of whom we could not be confident that an arm's length approach would be demonstrated.

I do not believe for a minute that the Minister, in his heart, is committed to this initiative. I commend him on what he is doing in the area of the development of shared services. We should be doing the same thing in many areas of the public service. What procedures has he put in place to ensure the integrity of the National Library of Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland, as two separate and distinct cultural entities, will be maintained? What steps has he taken to that end?

The Minister mentioned a figure of €1 million in savings for the whole process. From listening to the Minister, it seems he is a bit tentative about this. In conclusion, I again make the point that when the possible savings are balanced against the very significant risk to these vital institutions, it is a risk that is not worth taking at this point.

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