Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 10: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism when the new board of the National Archives Advisory Council will be appointed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10938/08]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The principal function of the National Archives Advisory Council, NAAC, is to advise me in the exercise of my powers under the National Archives Act on all matters affecting archives within the scope of the Act, and on the use of the archives by the public. The council also has a statutory function to advise the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government on keeping local authority records. The term of office of the current members of the NAAC expired recently.

The National Archives is facing into years with a complex agenda including the redevelopment of its headquarters and the revision of the National Archives Act. A complete changeover at this point would leave very little of the corporate memory of the NAAC. For continuity some of the members should be reappointed to the council, if they are willing to serve a further term of office. Accordingly, I am currently considering appointment of a new board. In view of the complex nature of the work facing the council in the coming years, I do not propose to rush into these appointments and will ensure that the council is provided with the necessary expertise to fulfil its duties. I anticipate, however, that I will make these appointments shortly.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I recently read that the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy Brennan, has 199 board positions within his gift. This is a serious responsibility and I do not need to lecture him on the importance of choosing the right people. I have no problem with the members of the former board. If he wants to reappoint all of them I will not complain. However, appointments should be made. This is a statutory body. By law we should have it, but we have had no body since last November. As the Minister said, part of its obligation is to advise him. If there had been such a body it might have advised the Minister not to put what little genealogy records we have left in the hands of groups of people charging for it. This is public information and it is the wrong choice. I am appalled that the few genealogy records we have, having burned nearly 1,000 years of records in 1922, which are parish records collated and gathered using public money, are not available to the public. On St. Patrick's Day we will spend hundreds of thousands of euro, millions of euro as Deputy Tom Kitt erroneously stated this morning, sending Ministers overseas to showcase Ireland to our diaspora. I think all the Cabinet members except Deputy Brennan are going away. In the same week we are telling them we will charge them for information on their forefathers. It was the wrong message to send and even at this stage we should examine this. It should be public information. We have a long tradition of making archival material freely available and facilitating access to it. Charging for it is the wrong choice.

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I want to address a range of issues around the National Archives. In most countries the national archives are a major institution and are usually housed in an iconic building and looked on with pride by the citizenry. I do not say that is not the case here, but we tend to take a storage view of our archives rather than a view that we are proud of what we have managed to assemble. We saw it recently when we published the 1911 census on the Web. Already there have been 17 million hits. That shows the appetite that is there. Deputy Olivia Mitchell has been concerned for some time about the quality and availability of storage space and because of that urging I have asked my Department to consider the views I am putting forward and to come back to me as quickly as possible. I will take a look at the fee situation, but it is a bigger issue than that. I would like to take a broader national view of these archives to see how we can bring them centre stage in our artistic world.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Can I take it from that response that we can look forward to an iconic building for the national archives? Is that a promise?

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Whether a building is iconic is a matter of opinion.

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Indeed, but if it is the Minister's opinion I will be happy with that. Are we heading in that direction?

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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There is approximately €20 million in the national development plan for the development of the archives. It does not specifically lay down that it is for a building, but I have come to the conclusion that the archives are unsung heroes that need to be brought centre stage. Just like our museum or our library, they need the same kind of national status. I will look at how I can move that forward.