Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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73. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her views on whether the new master plan issued by the National Museum of Ireland will meet her objectives for the institution. [27584/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The National Museum of Ireland is a valuable part of the cultural heritage of the State. Under the new Board which I appointed last year, the Museum is now planning for the future in a strategic fashion and is in the process of finalising a master plan to provide for its future development. The plan has not yet issued but I do look forward to engaging with the Museum over the coming period before it is finalised. The master plan for the Museum will also to be considered in the wider policy context of Government policy on the arts area including the Creative Ireland Programme. The Creative Ireland Programme is the Government's Legacy Programme for Ireland 2016 – a five year initiative, from 2017 to 2022, which places creativity at the centre of public policy. The Government recognises that high quality infrastructure is critical for a vibrant arts and culture sector and that investment in cultural infrastructure underpins social cohesion and supports strong and sustainable economic growth. In line with this my Department is supporting the National Cultural Institutions in preparing ambitious but realistic investment plans, building on the progress already underway, to address infrastructure deficiencies in a planned and measured way. In particular, my Department is working on the development of an overall capital strategy for the cultural and heritage sector.

The Museum's plan, when finalised, will provide a valuable long-term roadmap for the development of this valuable cultural institution as part of this overall capital strategy.