Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 17: To ask the Minister for Defence his plans to develop the military achives; his plans to digitise the off line records by the archive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24582/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Military Archives are located in Cathal Brugha Barracks, Rathmines, Dublin 6. The Military Archives is the designated place of deposit for the records of the Department of Defence, the Defence Forces and the Army Pensions Board under the terms of the National Archives Act 1986. Archives are held there and, because of space constraints, in other locations. The function of the Military Archives is to collect, preserve and make available material relating to the history of the development of the Defence Forces from the formation of the Irish Volunteers in November 1913 up to the present day, inclusive of Defence Forces' overseas service with the United Nations from 1958. The Archives also hold the Bureau of Military History collection.

The digitisation of records is an ongoing process in the Military Archives. Collections digitised so far include a collection of maps, plans and drawings of various posts and barracks around the country. The digitisation of the collection known as the Bureau of Military History is currently under way.

Additionally, a Military Service Pensions Archive project is underway to process approximately 300,000 military service pension files covering the Easter 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War. The purpose of this project is to make the records for this period available to the public and to historians in time for the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising in 2016. This is a principal project of the Government centenary commemoration programme.

The requirement for a more suitable home for the Military Archives has been recognised for some time. The long-term accommodation for the Military Archives is being reviewed in the context of the Government Centenary Programme and the Military Service Pensions Archive project.