Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Under section 104 of the Bill, the board of the National Museum may designate a site where an archaeological object may be placed for safekeeping. While the period that an object could be stored was originally set at 12 months, it has been determined that there are practical reasons why certain objects may need to remain in storage for a longer period. For example, waterlogged wood from the sea or inland waterways usually needs to remain fully submerged pending conservation works and these works may take longer than 12 months to be completed. In addition, the capacity for conservation of the National Museum is, of course, limited by the number of skilled staff available to carry out this specialised work. It is essential that adequate time be provided to ensure an orderly reception and conservation of important artefacts. A three-year period for temporary safekeeping is considered a more appropriate timeframe and, in many cases, will result in better preserved and documented collections that can ultimately be of greater value to the public who access archaeological knowledge derived from the National Museum’s collections.