Written answers

Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Department of Defence

Military Archives

Photo of Derek KeatingDerek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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90. To ask the Minister for Defence since his Department has facilitated the availability of archive material to the nation, if he will outline the importance of this service; the cost to the State; the usage of same since this information was made available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21130/13]

Photo of Alan ShatterAlan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The mission of the Military Archives is to acquire, preserve and make available to the public the documentary heritage of the Defence Forces and the Department of Defence. The Military Archives also provides advice and other services to the Defence Organisation, assisting in the administration and management of its records. From as early as 1924, the Defence Forces undertook to preserve historical documents from that time and since 1990 the Military Archives has been the official place of deposit for such material, including that of the Army Pensions Board, under the terms of the National Archives Act, 1986. Associated with the Military Archives is the Military Service Pensions Archive (MSPA) project which, although not currently in the public domain, is a cornerstone of the Government's Centenary Programme. Approximately 300,000 files relating to the period from Easter Week 1916, through the War of Independence and Civil War comprise this collection. The files relate mainly to applications by individuals and/or their dependants for the award of pension and gratuities for veterans who served as members of the Irish Volunteers, the Irish Citizen Army, the Hibernian Rifles, the Irish Republican Army, Cumann na mBan, Na Fianna Éireann, the National Army/Defence Forces on active service or who were casualties or wounded while on duty during the period from April and May 1916 through to 30 September 1923.

It is not possible to accurately record all costs associated with the Military Archives as a proportion of the work that contributes to this important activity is done in the ordinary course of the day to day duties of a wide range of Defence Forces and Department of Defence personnel. The annual budget for the Military Archives is €50,000 per annum and in addition for 2013 there is a further budget allocation of €100,000 allocated to a digitization project. Since the MSPA project commenced in 2008, the Military Archives have incurred direct costs of some €1m., including costs associated with the MSPA project. This figure would not necessarily include full costs of all incidentals and consumables, or all IT support; nor would it include salary costs.

During 2012, 1.5 million views were recorded from 142 countries on the online access to Military Archive services. This recording of usage began in January 2012 following the launch of the Military Archives website. In addition, the Military Archives facilitates research by the public, including academic, family and local history researchers. Demand for this service has grown with 3,383 e-mail or postal queries received by Military Archives in 2012 and 2,869 telephone requests for information.

The Military Archives is located at Cathal Brugha Barracks, Rathmines, Dublin and is open to the public from Tuesday to Thursday of each week by prior appointment. On average, the eight available research seats are fully utilised on a daily basis.

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