Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to clarify the issues raised by the Senator. In my response, I would like to be abundantly clear in regard to the issues which arose following the resignation of the previous director of the National Museum of Ireland, the steps which have been taken by my Department since that time and the process which is being followed regarding the appointment of a new director.

As the Senator pointed out, section 29(1) of the 1997 National Cultural Institutions Act provides for the appointment of a chief executive officer of the museum who shall be known as the director of the museum. The roles and responsibilities which attach to the director post are many and are carried out under the direction and guidance of the board of the museum. The 1997 Act provides that the director of the museum shall be appointed by the board of the museum with the consent of the Minister. These provisions are set out very clearly in section 29 of the Act.

In late January this year, the then director of the national museum wrote to me to inform me of his decision to retire from his post from 29 February. In his communication, the then director regretted the short notice of his intention to retire. It is a fact that at this time there is in place a moratorium on appointments at all levels within the public sector. Therefore, my Department had to seek approval from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to suspend the moratorium in the case of the director of the National Museum of Ireland and to fill the post. The national museum had to make a case for the new appointment to be made and terms and conditions for the new appointment also had to be agreed. While this process was under way, approval was sought and secured from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to appoint an acting director in the interim.

Following ongoing contact between my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, last week the approval to proceed with the appointment of a new director at the National Museum of Ireland was secured. I was pleased to advise the Dáil of this development last Wednesday, 3 October, on which date I also wrote formally to the chair of the national museum.

An independent recruitment process to be managed by the Public Appointments Service will now commence to allow for the selection and recruitment of a suitably qualified candidate for this prestigious post. Let me be absolutely clear - the recruitment process will be managed by the Public Appointments Service as the agent of the National Museum of Ireland. The National Museum of Ireland, with my consent, is the appointment entity. The timescale for completion of this recruitment process is a matter for the Public Appointments Service, but I am given to understand that the post of director will be advertised publicly in the coming weeks. I hope that is the case, as I wish to see the new director in place as soon as possible, but I must again reiterate that this is an independent recruitment process managed by the Public Appointments Service.

The proposed recruitment process is similar to those employed in the recent recruitment of the current directors of a number of our other national cultural institutions, including the National Gallery of Ireland, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the National Concert Hall. All these appointments, and that of the director of the Arts Council, were made in this fashion, with the Public Appointments Service operating as the recruitment agency for the cultural institutions involved.

All of the appointments are made ultimately by the board of the relevant institution, with my consent, as provided for in statute. This is the same situation as now arises in the case of the new director of the National Museum of Ireland. Any attempt to portray the process of appointment of the new director of the National Museum of Ireland as somehow odd, unusual or atypical is simply wrong.

The facts of the matter are very simple. To be abundantly clear, let me recap briefly on all steps in this process. The former director of the National Museum of Ireland retired after short notice at the end of February. I would like to recognise the work of Dr. Pat Wallace. He was much committed to the National Museum of Ireland for a long time and I am delighted to say that his celebrated book on Wood Quay will be published next year. That will, no doubt, be very important from the point of the commemoration of 1014 and Viking Dublin.

My Department sought and received approval for the board to appoint an acting director who has been in place since March. Due to the moratorium in place on recruitment in the public service, an agreement had to be secured to suspend the moratorium in this case. To this end, the museum board made a business case to my Department for the filling of the director post, in accordance with the process for addressing all vacancies in the public sector.

Approval to fill the post was received from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform last week and I announced the matter in the Dáil in response to a parliamentary question. The sanction to fill the post was also conveyed by me to the chairman of the National Museum of Ireland, and it now falls to the museum to liaise with the Public Appointments Service in relation to the advertising of the post, the recruitment campaign and so forth. The terms, conditions and salary for the new director of the National Museum of Ireland, when appointed, will be the same as those which applied to the previous director.

I should mention the series of efficiency measures announced in the Government's public service reform plan last November which included proposals to examine the issue of shared services and the board structure of both the National Library and the National Museum. A report outlining the progress to date and the proposed way forward in respect of these issues was forwarded to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in July and I am advised that this information is being assimilated with a view to it being submitted to Government for consideration in due course.

I hope that this clarifies the position for the Senator.