Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to express my concerns at the chronic underfunding of the Michael Davitt Museum in Straide, County Mayo. The museum is housed in a magnificently restored pre-penal laws church in the village of Straide between Castlebar and Foxford. What makes the museum unique is that Michael Davitt was christened in the church in 1846 and is buried in the grounds of the 13th-century Straide Abbey beside the museum. I need not educate the House on Michael Davitt or on his fantastically hard work because his legacy speaks for itself. He advocated for the three Fs, namely, fair rent, fixity of tenure and free sale - allowing tenants to buy their lands from oppressive but mainly absentee landlords. The Michael Davitt Museum offered guided tours to more than 5,000 visitors in 2017; it is probable that another 5,000 visited the site over the past year. Despite existing on a shoestring budget, the museum offers guided tours and holds lectures, exhibitions and community events. The museum caters for larger groups, which include schools, historical societies and active retirement associations. It has been rated in the top ten in Ireland by TripAdvisor for 2017 and as the number one museum in the country outside of Dublin, yet the only funding it has received from central government over the past five years is a grant of €20,000 from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. This provided a heating system for the museum and a small portakabin, which is divided into offices and a kitchen. Various applications have been made to the Heritage Council but no funding has ensued. Applications have also been made to the Office of Public Works, OPW, but have failed to bear fruit. It is essential that funding is made available to employ a small number of staff on a permanent basis. This will provide continuity and expertise. If this does not happen, the museum could cease to exist. We are very good at commemorating and celebrating our past in this country. Yesterday I received a lovely pack from the Houses of the Oireachtas with the programme for the commemoration of women's suffrage. It would be an awful pity to celebrate and commemorate some individuals and movements, while letting others go to rack and ruin.