Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 286: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the steps he is taking to ensure that the genealogical on-line research service is made available free of charge to members of the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18518/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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In November 2007, the National Archives of Ireland launched the on-line version of the 1901 & 1911 National Census. Access to this service is available free of charge and has proven to be very popular already with up to 17 million hits on the web site in its first month of operation.

In relation to the availability of the pre-1900 Church Birth, Marriage and Death records, in 2006 an Advisory Group was established by this Department to examine the computerisation of these records and their eventual availability through an on-line web site. Officials from this Department have been working towards the implementation of the report's recommendations.

A key recommendation in this report was that priority should be given to computerisation of the Dublin City records. In 2007, Dublin City Public Libraries, with funding and support provided by this Department, completed the computerisation of almost all transcribed (i.e. on index cards) church records (totalling approximately 730,000 records) relevant to the Dublin City area. Consideration is being given at present to how the un-transcribed Dublin City Records (estimated to be in the order of 800,000 records) can be computerised most effectively and in the most financially advantageous way. Discussions have also taken place between this Department and a number of local genealogical centres with a view to securing a copy of their computerised records in the context of future Departmental funding.

A copy of all the computerised Dublin City records, together with those of other centres to which this Department provides funding, will be lodged with the National Archives of Ireland. This Department intends to develop an on-line research service to provide free of charge access to this genealogical data and initial discussions with the National Archives have taken place to achieve this.

The Irish Family History Foundation (IFHF), a private umbrella organisation for the majority of local genealogy centres throughout the island of Ireland, launched its own on-line genealogical research service recently, full access to which is subject to a charge. The IFHF does not receive any direct subvention from my Department. However, my Department have informed the IFHF that potential future funding to complete the computerisation of the outstanding Church Birth, Marriage and Death records from pre-1900 will be subject to compliance with the Advisory Group report including the placing of a copy of the computerised records in a single web site repository and that a guarantee must be given that free public access will be given to the data on this web site.