Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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94. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the total cost to his Department and those under his aegis for the storage of records and archives that are intended to be forwarded to the National Archives in time; if he will provide this cost for 2013 and 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35029/14]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The provision of the storage of records and archives is a shared service provided by the Department of Finance for both the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.  Files are presently stored in two separate locations. The first is in our main premises in Government Buildings.  There is no cost for the storage in this area.

The second is an off-site facility in Finglas that is currently on lease and is paid by the Office of Public Works which cost €81,323 in 2012 and €81,882 in 2013.

The Valuation Office has accommodation for archive storage and reading facilities in its Office at the Irish Life Centre, Abbey St. Lower, Dublin, 2. This complies with standards and conditions prescribed by the National Archives at no additional cost. It also has offsite storage facilities to store records which cost €8,800 in 2012 and in 2013.

There are no additional costs borne by other organisations under my remit. Archiving is carried out in house at no extra cost.

I understand that the Office of Public Works will be forwarding its response to you separately.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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95. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if it is the practice of his Department to employ an archivist to examine records and archives once records are deemed appropriate for archiving to determine the quality of the records, the importance, the estimated care and attention needed to preserve the records and so on; if not, if he will consider this option in order to best capture the most valuable records before they potentially deteriorate in storage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35031/14]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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File Management and Archiving is a shared service provided by the Department of Finance for both the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in respect of file management and paper records.  In return, my Department provides ICT services to the Department of Finance which includes electronic records. There is work ongoing within the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer in my Department in collaboration with the Department of Finance to introduce a digital preservation mechanism for departmental records.  This is expected to aid in the long term preservation of departmental records.  

Up until recently, the Department of Finance had a member of staff who performed the duties of an archivist on a part time basis. However, the archivist retired this year and we are now reviewing our requirements in the context of electronic records and multimedia and the ongoing records management project and also to determine how best to resource this specialist role.

Guidelines have recently been updated in relation to record keeping and file storage which were issued to all staff in recent months. Training on record keeping has also been introduced in my Department as part of induction training.

The Valuation Office is currently employing a Student Archivist on an Intern basis. The Student Archivist is located in the National Archives and is involved in the preservation of Valuation Office material prior to it being transferred permanently to the National Archives.  This arrangement has been in place for one year and will continue until July 2015.

It is not the practice of the Commissioners of Public Works to employ an archivist to examine records being transferred to the National Archives but it does consult with the National Archives in relation to the archiving of records from time to time.