Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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17. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if, in view of the high sums spent annually on renting storage for National Archive records, she is considering any proposals to enhance the ability of the State to store and process these records more efficiently, without relying on private storage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23878/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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By their very nature, archives, particularly State archives, grow continually due to the annual statutory intake of records. As a result, storage and increasing demands on space are ever-present issues for the National Archives. The use of off-site storage responds to this demand.

The Government has recognised the demands facing the National Archives and, in December 2014, approved phase one of a building development plan at the National Archives’ Bishop Street premises.

The OPW has recently gone to tender for the first phase of the project with an estimated start date of late 2015. It is anticipated that the overall three-phase development plan will cost some €20m in total.

This project will provide a significant amount of additional on-site storage for the National Archives and will address a number of longstanding problems with the building at Bishop Street. It will also, in the longer term, reduce significantly the reliance on private storage.