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

Thanks to the €4 million investment by the State, all of which is taxpayers' money be it in tax concessions or direct purchase, Ireland has the single biggest Yeats collection in the world, and rightly so. By any standards €4 million is a very significant investment. The National Library of Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland have the expertise to ensure that the most significant items were purchased. These items will now form part of the national collection of our cultural institutions so that future generations will be able to enjoy them. It is important to remember that this is taxpayers' money we are talking about. As much as I would like it I do not have an endless pot of gold in my Department. The Deputy is aware that there are competing pressures and there are a lot of very worthy cases for funding. We must prioritise them to ensure we can support as many of them as possible. This is very good news today because Ireland has acquired some very important items to add to our existing W.B. Yeats collection.

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