John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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39. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the plans in place for the development of the National Concert Hall; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37394/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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An overall master plan for the redevelopment of the Earlsfort Terrace complex, including the National Concert Hall (NCH), is currently being prepared by the OPW in consultation with the NCH and my Department. These plans will consider the refurbishment and upgrading of the main auditorium, as well as the development of other performance spaces and ancillary facilities, and will assist in long-term development of the complex, subject, of course, to the availability of resources. It should be noted that my Department has provided an allocation of €6m towards the current refurbishment programme at the NCH, which has included the complete renovation of the Kevin Barry Recital Room. This was the setting for the Treaty ratification debates of the 2^ndDáil Éireann in 1921 and has been transformed into a new recital space. It was officially opened in April last as one of the ‘permanent reminder’’ capital projects under the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme.