Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 266: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the date of establishment of a company (details supplied); if this company is still in existence; the purpose and role of this company; the number of members of the board of this company; the number of whom are appointed by himself; the persons by whom the remaining board members are appointed; the level of equity held by the Department within this company; the level of financing provided by the Government to this company for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5601/08]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The company referred to in the Parliamentary Question ceased to exist from midnight on 31 January 2006. It was replaced with immediate effect by a new company called Abbey Theatre Amharclann na Mainistreach (the "Abbey Theatre"). The main purpose of this company is to continue the tradition of the Abbey Theatre as the national theatre of Ireland for the purpose of acting and producing plays in Irish and/or English, written by Irish authors or on Irish subjects, and such dramatic works of international authors as would tend to educate and interest the Irish public in the higher aspects of dramatic art. There are eleven members of the board of directors, three of whom are appointed by the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism. A selection committee comprising the Chair of the company, an independent person from the artistic or cultural sector appointed by the Minister and a person appointed by the Arts Council appoints the remaining eight members.

My Department does not hold equity in this company. Under new arrangements put in place with the establishment of The Abbey Theatre/Amharchlann na Mainistreach the Arts Council provides the company with ongoing revenue support and agreed a three-year funding concord amounting to a €25.7m grant for the period 2006 — 2008. The Arts Council also provided the theatre with capital funding of €1,024,000 in 2006 and my Department provided capital funding of €650,000 and €88,000 in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 267: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the date of establishment of a company (detail supplied); if this company is still in existence; the purpose and role of this company; the number of members of the board of this company; the number of whom are appointed by himself; the person by whom the remaining board members are appointed; the level of equity held by the Department within this company; the level of financing provided by the Government to this company for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5602/08]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Irish Genealogy Limited (IGL) was registered with the Companies Registration Office in September 1993 and continues to operate. The main objects for which the company was established were: (a) to provide information on the genealogical and settlement patterns of areas in the island of Ireland; to stimulate education about the heritage and the environment of the island; to foster and encourage genealogical and other research; to increase knowledge about the island of Ireland and its peoples throughout the world; and to further these objects by promoting and developing in the island of Ireland a genealogical service for those seeking information on their Irish ancestry — all of these services to benefit and assist in the development of local communities and in the development of tourism and (b) to market these services at home and overseas.

A review of the role of IGL took place as part of the Review of the Church Birth, Marriage and Death Records Computerisation Project, which was carried out by an Advisory Group established by my Department in 2006. IGL amended its Memorandum and Articles of Association in December 2007 to take account of those recommendations of the Advisory Group which were relevant to it. The functions of IGL under its new Memorandum and Articles of Association are:

1.To act as an advisory body to the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism in relation to achieving a co-ordinated approach to genealogy.

2.To maintain strong links with Fáilte Ireland, the Northern Ireland Tourism Board and Tourism Ireland; and to engage in marketing initiatives overseas in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland, the Northern Ireland Tourism Board and Tourism Ireland.

3.To foster, encourage and promote genealogical and other research.

IGL is funded primarily by my Department from which it has received the following funding in the past five years:

Since 2005, the staff and functions of IGL have been scaled back, taking account of the completion of some of its tasks and the review of its functions. The current Board of IGL comprises six public interest representatives, three of whom are appointed through this Department and three through the Department of Finance and Personnel in Belfast, two representatives from, and appointed by, the Association for Professional Genealogists in Ireland, one representative from the Association of Ulster Genealogists and Record Agents and five representatives from the Irish Family History Foundation (IFHF). The IFHF representatives have not sat on the Board since 2005. A number of observers, representing statutory bodies also attend the meetings of IGL. These observers represent the National Archives of Ireland; the National Library of Ireland; the General Register Office; Fáilte Ireland; FÁS, the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and this Department.

A new Board of IGL will be appointed by me later this year and will consist of 11 directors who will serve for a period of 5 years. Five of the directors will be nominees of the following statutory bodies: The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism; The National Archives of Ireland; The National Library of Ireland; The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Northern Ireland and Fáilte Ireland. The remaining six directors will be nominated from non-statutory bodies, local government or organisations in the genealogy sector of which three will have a particular genealogy based competence or expertise.