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

Perhaps the Minister of State might make the announcement now, rather than wait for the weekend. It is in this House that such an announcement should be made. I appreciate most of the points she has made and cannot disagree with any of them. However, the outgoing board is stating all of the important collections are deteriorating. If that is happening, it is something that requires immediate action. If the collections are not fire-safe, they require immediate attention. Will the Minister give us an assurance that there will be the required level of attention?

The Minister has rightly said the building on Kildare Street is old, as is this building, and such buildings require ongoing maintenance and capital investment. What is the level of capital investment required to upgrade the building? If the Minister is to make an announcement in the near future, will she refer in it to the total refurbishment of the building?

Reference has been made to an exhibition in 2017 of the work of the Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney, of whom and of whose work we are enormously proud. We want the exhibition to go ahead and are aware that it is going ahead, the Minister having secured commitments from Bank of Ireland in this respect. As media reports state the National Library of Ireland will not be in a position to invest in the exhibition, can the Minister of State put our minds at ease by confirming that extra funding will be forthcoming from the Government?

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