Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Tá sé de phribhléid agus de fhreagracht orm an Bille seo a chur os comhar na Dála inniu agus an rún a bhogadh go léifear an Bille don Dara hUair. Is Bille gearr é agus is éard atá i gceist ná leasuithe a chur leis an gcairt ríoga atá taobh thiar den Acadamh Ibeirneach Ríoga. Tá an t-acadamh bunaithe ar an gcairt seo. Mar a dúirt mé, is Bille gearr é agus níl i gceist ann ach seacht mír.

This is a private Bill to amend the governing charter of the Royal Hibernian Academy, RHA. The Standing Orders governing private Bills designate me, as Leas-Cheann Comhairle, to be the Member in charge of the Bill during its passage through the Dáil. It is for this reason that I am moving the motion on the Second Reading.

Interestingly, the RHA was originally incorporated by royal charter in 1823 and a further royal charter was granted in 1861. We are talking about royal charters given before and after the Great Famine. The granting or amendment of the RHA's charter was once a prerogative power of the royal sovereign but, since independence, this power, as we know, has been vested in the Oireachtas and is exercised by means of a private Bill, which I have the privilege of putting through the Dáil today, with the co-operation of Members.

The Bill will increase the membership of the RHA and remove some of the outdated provisions of the 1861 charter, which the RHA considers are no longer relevant. The 1861 charter provided that the RHA would consist of 30 members who would, in turn, appoint up to ten artists to join the RHA as associates. The members of the RHA are of the view that there is a growing population of younger artists in Ireland and it is desirable to expand its membership to include this new cohort. For this reason, section 2 of the Bill increases the membership from 30 to 55.

The Bill also makes several other reforms to the charter. Section 3 creates a new permanent position of keeper in addition to the president, treasurer and secretary. The position of keeper is provided for already in the by-laws as the person responsible for the care of the RHA's works of art or the property confined to its care.

Section 4 removes the limit of a yearly value of £1,000 on the value of assets that may be purchased by or given to the RHA.

Section 5 replaces the qualifying profession of engravers with the profession of print makers.

Section 6 removes the geographic limit on the holding of meetings within the city of Dublin, or 10 miles thereof.

Section 7 changes the quorum in the event of the absence of the president for the purposes of electing a vice president from nine or more members to one third or more members.

I commend the Bill to the House. Cuirim céad míle fáilte roimh na cúirteoirí atá thuas staighre ag breathnú anuas orainn agus atá ag éisteacht linn, go háirithe Abigail O'Brien, president of the RHA; Patrick Murphy, director; Andrew Folan, secretary; and James Hanley, council member. I understand they are accompanied by a team of members from the solicitor's office.

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