Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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15. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will make available all correspondence or concerns expressed to her Department by the management of the National Library of Ireland regarding the safety and security of the national collection; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23876/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The National Library of Ireland is a statutorily independent body. While my Department provides funding to the national cultural institutions, the management and board of each institution are responsible for all operational matters, including storage, security and conservation, and I do not have a statutory function in respect of such day-to-day matters. It is the responsibility of the management and the board of each institution to determine the spending priorities for their individual institutions, based on the resources available to them and the need to ensure the appropriate conservation and protection of collections.

I am aware of the issues at the National Library regarding storage and the Library has been in communication with my Department in this regard. The National Library has also placed its concerns on the record at Oireachtas Committee hearings. In this regard, I would be happy to make relevant documents available to the Deputy, following consultation with the National Library and subject to any issues of confidentiality or security which arise. I will revert to the Deputy as soon as possible.

In regard to resources, I was pleased, at the conclusion of the recent Estimates processes, not only to have ensured there would be no reduction in funding for the arts and culture areas of my Department for 2015, but also to have secured an additional €2 million in funding for the national cultural institutions. This included an increased allocation of €600,000 for the National Library in 2015. I was also pleased to recently approve a new post in the National Library for a security and facilities manager, which will be key to managing and planning the storage and security of the Library’s collection.

The overall funding secured for 2015 gives more certainty to the institutions and will allow them to continue to deliver on their core objectives, including the protection and conservation of their collections.