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

I commend the Minister on his response. I note that the gardaí have made an arrest in respect of one of these thefts. Two things arise. First, there is general concern among the public and the Members of this House that twice in the last 12 months, artefacts have been stolen from what we believed to be secure locations that had been acquired by the State. I suppose it is understandable that we would require assurances from the Minister that steps have been taken to ensure these valuable artefacts are safe. The second point relates to the fact that so many of our artefacts are in storage. When we recently discussed material handed over from a house in County Kerry that was under refurbishment, the Minister gave us some very good and plausible explanations. When one considers the number of locations throughout the State where these artefacts could be made available to the public in a safe manner in which people could have confidence, one wonders why so many of our artefacts remain in storage rather than being put on public display so that they may be enjoyed by the public, which is the purpose for which they were supplied to the State in the first instance. I would be grateful if the Minister could have regard to these two points in his response.

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