Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Records of historical significance are being prioritised and that will continue to be the case. On the question of the moratorium, we recently appointed archivists to the National Archives, not to deal with the backlog but to work on other projects. The National Archives succeeded recently in securing some philanthropic donations which will also help. There is also a problem with space, unfortunately. When we had the resources in this country to provide adequate space it was not provided. The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, and I visited the National Archives recently and the OPW is now drawing up a proposal for additional accommodation which I hope to bring to Government soon. I know there is strong support among my Government colleagues for the National Archives. Indeed, the Taoiseach has a particular interest in the National Archives and visited there recently. Within the current constraints, I am very confident that we can make progress.

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