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

While my Department provides funding to the national cultural institutions, the management and board of each institution are responsible for all operational matters and I do not have a statutory function in this regard. It is the responsibility of the management and the board of each institution to determine the spending priorities for their individual institutions, based on the resources available to them.

I am aware of the reorganisation of the management structure in the National Library. As part of this, the heraldic responsibilities of the Office of the Chief Herald and the genealogical services now constitute a single business area. I understand that the library considers that bringing genealogy and heraldry services together better acknowledges the connection between these areas and highlights the unique offering of the library as both a centre for genealogical research and the home of the heraldic authority for Ireland.

Indeed, I note the success of the library's recently launched Parish Registers website, which has had almost half a million visitors since its launch. The digitisation of those records will be of great assistance to those who wish to research their family history and will have a particular resonance for the Irish diaspora, which until now has faced significant difficulties in easily accessing this type of information.

I am aware of the pressures faced by the National Library, along with the entire public sector, given ongoing fiscal constraints. In that context, I was pleased to ensure there would be no reduction in funding for the arts and culture areas of my Department for 2015 and I secured an additional €2 million in funding for the national cultural institutions, including an increased allocation in 2015 of €600,000 for the National Library. The future funding needs of the library will be carefully considered, having regard to the resources available to my Department in the context of the ongoing budget and Estimates process.

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