Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

With regard to recommendation No. 4, I consider submissions from the national cultural institutions, NCIs, annually as part of the Estimates process. The committee's recommendation will be considered in the context of future budget Estimates processes. In the interim, the Deputy will be aware that my Department runs an annual mobility of collections scheme for the dissemination of national collections to regional museums and to support greater regional and local access to material held in the national collections. The scheme is designed to fund the cost of transport, insurance and exhibiting for pieces from the national collections to appropriate institutions around the country.

With regard to recommendation No. 3 concerning the UNESCO heritage list, under processes currently in place, it is open to any stakeholders to submit an expression of interest for the national inventory of intangible cultural heritage. Existing arrangements provide for an open, transparent and fair application and decision process. I have no plans at present to review these arrangements.

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