Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 152: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism her views on the storage conditions for works of art owned by the State; her views on the storage facilities for works of art in the State galleries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15864/10]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The majority of the State's National Collecting Cultural Institutions operate as autonomous statutory bodies in accordance with the provisions of the relevant legislation which includes, inter alia, the National Cultural Institutions Act 1997; the National Gallery of Ireland Act 1928, as amended and the National Archives Act, 1986. The Crawford Art Gallery Cork and the Irish Museum of Modern Art are both incorporated as companies limited by Guarantee in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 1963 - 2005. The Chester Beatty Library is a public charitable trust.

The Board of each Institution is responsible for all operational matters relating to the institution, including storage, and I, as Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, do not have a statutory function in respect of operational matters.

However, I can confirm that my Department has worked and continues to work in collaboration with the Office of Public Works to improve storage facilities at our National Cultural Institutions. This work includes the recent provision of suitable off site storage facilities for the National Museum of Ireland and the provision of both on and off site storage facilities for the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Storage facilities in the National Library and the National Archives need to be improved and my Department has requested these organisations to work with the Office of Public Works in order to provide both medium term solutions for collections storage and to plan for permanent solutions as the availability of resources permits.