Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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339. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department has a written oversight arrangement with the National Museum of Ireland as per the code of practice for the governance of State bodies published in 2016; and if so, if she will make a copy of this available. [21508/17]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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340. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the way in which roles and responsibilities are delineated between the National Museum of Ireland and her Department in order that effective accountability is possible only with clearly defined roles and responsibilities between her Department and State bodies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21509/17]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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341. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the way in which the National Museum of Ireland operates as an autonomous body as set out in the National Cultural Institutions Act 1997; the detail of this autonomy in view of the fact the museum is being funded primarily by State funds and its board is comprised of ministerial appointees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21510/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 339 to 341, inclusive, together.

As the Deputy will be aware, the National Museum of Ireland was established under the National Cultural Institutions Act, 1997 (the 1997 Act). Section 11 (1) of the 1997 Act sets out the principal functions of the Board of the Museum. Section 11(2) deals with the powers of the Board of the Museum. The Act also specifies certain points where the involvement of the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs is required eg section 34 where the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance is required to borrowing by the Board.

It should also be noted that the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, 2016, sets out the key functions which all State Boards should fulfil including: reviewing and guiding strategic direction and major plans of action, risk management policies and procedures, annual budgets and business plans, setting performance objectives, monitoring implementation and State body performance, and overseeing major capital expenditure and investment decisions.

In recent years, my Department has entered into a Service Level Agreement with the National Museum. This set out the framework for the relationship between the Department and the institution and was a performance contract in which an agreed level of service was formalised between my Department and the institution. This was to ensure that resources are used in an effective and cost effective manner to deliver quality services to the public. The Agreement set out the NMI's targets for the year and defined the output and outcome indicators on which performance should be measured. It also contains the commitments of the Department.

The Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies was revised in 2016. In line with the updated Code, my Department has prepared a draft Oversight Agreement and draft Performance Delivery Agreement (previously Service Level Agreement). My Department has recently written to the Board of the National Museum with regard to consideration of a draft Oversight Agreement between the Department and the Board of the National Museum.