Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I have previously advised the House, decisions on the curation and presentation of temporary or permanent exhibitions within national cultural institutions are operational matters for the relevant cultural institutions. However, I understand that the National Museum of Ireland is at the initial stages of planning a major new history of Ireland gallery which will eventually cover the period from 1600 to the present day, which will be located at the Museum of Decorative Arts and History at Collins Barracks.

The galleries will offer visitors an opportunity to explore the key events in Irish history leading up to and including the momentous events of the period 1912 to 1923. They will also provide a compelling, accurate and interactive account of the basic tides of Irish history since 1600. They will deal as much with the social, economic and cultural changes that affected everyday life, as with the political and military events that dominate most popular understanding. It is the museum's intention that the first phase of these permanent exhibition galleries will open in 2022 at the Museum of Decorative Arts and History, Collins Barracks and will cover the period of 1900–2022 to coincide with the conclusion of the commemorations around the decade of centenaries and the foundation of the Irish State.

This major new exhibition will be considered in the context of the ongoing development of the Decade of Centenaries Commemoration Programme. In the meantime the Museum will also be working on other aspects of the overall exhibition covering the period 1600 to 1900.

The question of funding for this exhibition will be considered when the Museum has drawn up detailed plans as part of the overall funding arrangements for both the Museum itself and the Decade of Centenaries Commemoration Programme. I look forward to working with the Museum in relation to this programme.

The National Museum is at the initial stages of planning a major new history of Ireland gallery. I think that will be of interest to the Deputy. The museum has held several exhibitions which also explore various aspect of this period, including Soldiers and Chiefs - the Irish at War at Home and Abroad which traces Ireland's military history from 1550 into the twenty-first century. There was also one entitled Proclaiming a Republic: The 1916 Rising which explores the background to the Rising.

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