Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is a moot legal point that we could all argue. One has also to remember that the State has put millions of euro into the renovation, preservation and upkeep of Russborough House. Therefore, it has a right to question what happens to the valuables and the paintings. It does not matter where they have been hanging for the past 20 years, that is irrelevant, but we have a right to be around the table and a right to be part of the discussion in respect of what should happen. It is like the Irish College in Paris. We do not necessarily own it but we have a huge integrative power within it because we have kept it alive through all our arts and culture down through the centuries.

There are two main problems I would like addressed. First, Russborough House is costing €400,000 per year to run. Why is it costing that amount? What are the trustees doing? The Minister is going to take action now. What have they been doing? How is it being run that it is costing that amount? Could it be better run in such a way that it would not cost that amount? If the problem was the upkeep of Russborough House, surely selling the paintings is their problem in their kitchen. It is not for them to go into the store and take out the great jewels and have them travel to make up for a certain incompetence about running it. That is their own problem, to find imaginative ways to run it, as many great places have done in Ireland, which stayed alive by being imaginative and creative in how they presented themselves to the public. They need to look at their own books and their inability or ability to run it and not see off the paintings to do it.

Second, since I have come to the Seanad, this has possibly been the greatest example of the absolute and complete art of secrecy. Nobody knew it was happening, nobody knew what was going on, nobody was told, nobody was asked, nobody was informed, nobody was allowed, including the Minister, into the discussion or the argument bar according to what we read, which was trickled down in The Irish Times. I take it the Minister did not know and if she did not know, it is outrageous. Why did not the Minister know? She is a person who believes in preservation and has a background in many areas of preservation in Monaghan. How dare they operate under such secret vales because what they have done is eroded the trust of the public and caused us to be here today. I would like the sale halted and I am not alone in that. There are many people who would like the sale halted from An Taisce, UCD school of art, history and culture, the Irish Georgian Society and the Seanad. I am part of the Seanad that would like the sale halted. I want the paintings back. The board of the National Gallery has exceeded its power. Nobody should be allowed to operate an export licence in Irish art, bar the Minister. I would trust the Minister to do it well or to, at least, speak to people about it. Nobody is allowed to sign off on that. I agree with the Leader that the board of the National Gallery should be sacked and its staff sent to England to take back the paintings - the money could be taken out of its grant for next year. If this cannot be done, will the Minister explain why and the reason she was not made aware of this sooner? How dare those involved not make the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht aware of it sooner.