Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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273. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport 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 to best capture the most valuable records before they potentially deteriorate in storage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35401/14]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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274. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the total cost of his Department and those under the aegis for the storage of records and archives that are ultimately intended to be forwarded to the National Archives in time; if he will provide this cost for 2012 and 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35425/14]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 273 and 274 together.

I wish to advise the Deputy that the Department has a dedicated file storage facility, located in Finglas, Dublin 11.  This facility is provided by the Office of Public Works (OPW) who are responsible for its procurement.

The Department also uses a limited amount of offsite storage, provided by a private supplier. The cost for this service to the Department was €3,576.06 in 2012 and €3,857.03 in 2013.

It is not the practice of my Department to employ an archivist. Files are stored in accordance with guidelines issued by the National Archives Office and storage conditions are reviewed periodically to ensure that they are appropriate for the storage and preservation of files over long periods.

The cost of management of records within the agencies under the Department's aegis is a matter for the agencies themselves and I am forwarding the Deputy's question to those agencies for a direct response to the Deputy. If the Deputy does not receive a response within 10 working days, she should contact my private office.