Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if his report to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on the merger of cultural institutions has been presented to Government for its consideration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53114/12]

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the public service reform plan published by the Government on 17 November 2011 outlined a series of rationalisation measures, some of which related to a certain number of the bodies funded from my Department's Vote. In this regard, my Department conducted a critical examination of the structure and operations of the institutions included in the public service reform plan and developed a comprehensive and practical approach to implementation of the various Government decisions in this area. This was endorsed by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. A progress report on the implementation of these measures was recently submitted to and approved by the Government. Summary documents which outline the main outcomes of this examination in relation to the relevant bodies and institutions have been published on my Department's website.

Savings of €20 million in enhanced service efficiencies and value for money measures were targeted in the public service reform plan. In this context, it is expected that savings in the region of approximately €1 million will be made initially across the institutions involved in the reform programme which are funded from my Department's Vote, with further savings to be identified as the various cost saving measures are implemented. In the immediate term savings are being made primarily in the following three ways: through the ending of payments to chairpersons and members of boards or advisory councils; through a programme of shared services between institutions, including retail, security, marketing, procurement and storage; and through the provision of services by my Department for certain institutions, including human resources and financial services, thereby relieving them of the need to incur costs in accessing these services.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Fearaim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus tuigim go bhfuil an t-Aire féin ag gníomhú ar chúrsaí a bhaineann leis an gcáinaisnéis. Tá sé sin tábhachtach, gan amhras. I agree that it is important that the Minister use every housekeeping initiative available to him to achieve economies. However, I am concerned that the arm's length principle enshrined in the Arts Act 2003 is being abandoned with the proposal to merge the National Archives, the National Monuments Service and the National Library of Ireland. In an international context we have identified 113 countries which have established national archives, but in only two are they amalgamated with the national library. I draw the Minister of State's attention to a comment made by our literary master craftsman, Mr. Colm Toibin, who stated: "The ethos behind a National Library – the making of books and manuscripts available to scholars - and the function of a National Archives – the preservation of documents emanating from government departments – seem quite distant from each other." We are asking the Government to desist from pursuing this policy because it is not in the interests of the cultural institutions to be drawn back into the control of the Minister. I accept that the Minister, Deputy Jimmy Deenihan, is totally committed to ensuring the well-being of our cultural institutions, but this change will live on after him and we cannot be sure that future Ministers will have such a demonstrable interest in this area. I do not think for one minute that he believes in his heart that the proposals made are in the best interests of these important facilities, given their major cultural and economic significance, not least in the context of The Gathering.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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No decision has been made to amalgamate the National Archives with any other body. The National Library of Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland will introduce a similar governance structure as that in place for the National Archives which has a statutorily independent director and an advisory council that serves pro bono and which has been successful in raising money from private sources to fund its work. This model has been adopted by the National Museum of Ireland and the National Library of Ireland, each of which will have a statutorily independent director. The Minister has committed to updating the legislation to strengthen the position of director at each institution. There will also be a National Museum of Ireland and National Library of Ireland council comprising nine members who will serve pro bono. The council will be tasked with fulfilling an outward facing and philanthropic role. The two institutions will be expected to work closely together in the sharing of common services. This is also expected of the three galleries which already work closely together in areas such as marketing, procurement, security and retail services.