Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In February 2014, an announcement was made in respect of a partnership between the State and the Bank of Ireland, which will result in the creation of a new cultural and heritage centre at the bank's College Green building, the former Parliament House. Bank of Ireland has made the space available for this centre to the State for a ten-year period and will cover the agreed refurbishment and operational costs that arise. My Department, in partnership with the bank, will manage, operate and animate the space for this period. When open for use, the cultural and heritage centre will be accessed by the public via the Gandon-designed entrance to the College Green buildings on Westmoreland Street. Since the announcement in February 2014, my Department has been liaising with the bank in identifying the scope of works necessary to convert the space in question to cultural and heritage use. The bank will be applying to Dublin City Council for planning permission for these works. At this stage, it is anticipated that the centre will be ready for use by cultural bodies in 2016, subject to grant of planning permission as applicable.

The ten-year licence for use of the cultural and heritage centre, to be executed between the bank and my Department, will overlap with the decade of centenaries. It is envisaged, therefore, that exhibitions at the centre will include a focus on key events in Irish history up to the centenary of the Civil War which led to the creation of modern Ireland.

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