Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 201: To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he has an inventory of the art collections held by the various covered financial institutions; if he will request the compilation of such an inventory, which could then be made available to the various cultural institutions of the State; his views on that the State should be given first option to take possession of objects contained in these art collections that may be of interest to the people before any commercial disposal of these assets due to the cost that has been borne by the people in rescuing these institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21635/11]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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1There has been a considerable engagement by my Department with a number of Irish financial institutions in relation to their art collections. Allied Irish Banks Plc, which has collected a considerable collection of art, is actively engaged with my Department to review its lending policy and to explore other means by which the public might have greater access to the collection. My Department will continue with that process. In relation to Bank of Ireland, donations were made to the Irish Museum of Modern Art after a request from my Department. In addition, Anglo Irish Bank has recently made a donation of 18 important artworks to the Irish Museum of Modern Art.