Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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139. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the major changes being made to the National Museum buildings to facilitate another organisation in view of the enormous and unnecessary disruption to the work of the museum in conserving, protecting and exhibiting the historic artifacts of the nation and the world. [33917/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I assume that the Deputy is referring to the request from the Houses of the Oireachtas Service to the Government that the Ceramic Room in the National Museum, Kildare Street, be made available on a temporary basis for Seanad Éireann in order to allow essential fire protection and health and safety works to be carried out in Leinster House. Such a temporary relocation of the Seanad is, of course, a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas in the first instance, while issues relating to the works to be carried out are proper to the Office of Public Works, which has overall responsibility for the State’s accommodation needs.

My role, on behalf of Government, was to request the National Museum to facilitate the relocation request and the Board of the Museum has agreed to so facilitate it. As the Ceramic Room is used primarily for education purposes, additional funding is being made available to provide alternative accommodation within the Museum for its education programme and for the installation of a new lift, which will provide disability access to the upper level of the Museum for the first time.

I understand that the Board of the Museum in engaging in a proactive way with the Oireachtas and a wider oversight group with a view to facilitating the temporary relocation of the Seanad while ensuring that the Museum can continue to deliver its full range of services.