Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the measures he is taking to audit and secure valuable artefacts and materials held by the State following recent high profile robberies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19540/13]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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The national cultural institutions under the aegis of my Department manage important collections of art and other artefacts on behalf of the State. While my Department provides funding to these institutions, the board of each institution is responsible for all operational matters including security arrangements and procedures. I do not have a statutory function in respect of such matters. Notwithstanding this, I am aware that the security of the collections is routinely kept under review by all of the institutions. My Department maintains appropriate contact with them on their security measures and the arrangements in place to ensure the protection of the collections in their care. My Department has written to all national cultural institutions twice so far in 2013 regarding security matters.

I am happy to give an update in respect of items in the ownership of my Department. As the Deputy will know, the Garda Síochána has been investigating the loss of a number of items held in private storage on behalf of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Earlier today, gardaí assisted by members from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation made an arrest on foot of the theft of paintings and other items from a storage facility in Limerick. A man has been taken to Shannon Garda station, where he is being detained under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. The Garda has confirmed today that further planned searches are being carried out in the Limerick area following this arrest. Deputies will appreciate that as this is an active investigation, I cannot comment on operational matters which are fully within the remit of the Garda. They will further appreciate that when an active investigation is under way, we must all be careful and judicious in our comments and actions. Nothing that is said or done should frustrate the ongoing investigation in any way. This is an extremely serious matter. I have instructed my Department to continue to give every possible assistance to the Garda to help to return these items to the State.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I commend the Minister on his response. I note that the gardaí have made an arrest in respect of one of these thefts. Two things arise. First, there is general concern among the public and the Members of this House that twice in the last 12 months, artefacts have been stolen from what we believed to be secure locations that had been acquired by the State. I suppose it is understandable that we would require assurances from the Minister that steps have been taken to ensure these valuable artefacts are safe. The second point relates to the fact that so many of our artefacts are in storage. When we recently discussed material handed over from a house in County Kerry that was under refurbishment, the Minister gave us some very good and plausible explanations. When one considers the number of locations throughout the State where these artefacts could be made available to the public in a safe manner in which people could have confidence, one wonders why so many of our artefacts remain in storage rather than being put on public display so that they may be enjoyed by the public, which is the purpose for which they were supplied to the State in the first instance. I would be grateful if the Minister could have regard to these two points in his response.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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The reference I made to Limerick and Shannon related to artefacts that were taken some time ago. I understand the theft in question took place long before I took up this office. We are dealing with items that were taken more recently - on Wednesday, 17 April last - from the collections resource centre in Swords. The Garda is investigating the matter. We have issued two communiqués to the national cultural institutions, calling on them to review their security arrangements, already this year. This is ongoing. A review of the National Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Collins Barracks museum has been carried out in conjunction with the Garda Síochána. A review of the Swords facility was due to be carried out next month. I am confident that the arrangements which are in place at the moment will protect the artefacts we have. We have to be vigilant, obviously, because we are dealing with a new and more sophisticated type of criminal. The eight rhinoceros horns stolen in Swords last week were probably taken to supply the illegal trade in powdered horn used in traditional medicines in the Far East, for example. Apparently, there is huge demand in the Far East for powdered horn. I understand the horns stolen last week could achieve a street price of up to €500,000. It is obvious that they were specifically targeted. The authorities at the Natural History Museum removed them from display because they were conscious of the security issues involved. The security arrangements are kept under review. I acknowledge again the work of the Garda Síochána in the case of the artefacts and objects that were stolen from Killarney House. The Garda is making considerable progress.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I wish I could share the Minister's optimism about the security that is in place. When I read about what happened on Balheary Road, I learned that the sole security man on the premises was tied up and that the thieves spent an hour on the premises before making off with the rhinoceros horns. Thank God nobody in this House needs the particular aphrodisiacs that are apparently produced from these horns.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Is the Deputy sure?

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Nonetheless, it is frightful to think they could be stolen in such a manner. The Minister omitted to deal with the point I raised about artefacts that are out of sight. Why are we not attempting to maximise the number of artefacts that can be made available to the public, not just in the Dublin cultural institutions but throughout the country?

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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It comes back to the issue of security. We do not have enough secure spaces in this country to guarantee that the artefacts would be secure if they were put on display. That is the reason.