Written answers

Tuesday, 20 June 2017

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Departmental Records

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1706. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if historians and genealogists can have access to records held by his Department in a warehouse in Portlaoise regarding the Land Commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28640/17]

Photo of Michael CreedMichael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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There are no immediate plans to make the 8 million or so records of the former Irish Land Commission (ILC)  generally available to the public for research purposes or otherwise as they are still working documents and have not been handed over to the National Archives. My officials regularly access these records to service queries from the public relating to current and past transactions and for the full completion of the work of the former ILC. Wider access will be a matter for consideration when the completion of the work of the former ILC is at a more advanced stage. The records which are available in paper format only are fragile, some dating back as far as the late 1800's and are an irreplaceable resource should they get damaged. So in order to maintain them it is essential that they are handled and stored appropriately. Opening up access to these files cannot be considered until appropriate measures are undertaken to minimise potential damage from routine handling. While limited access is granted to persons on application, the office does not provide a research facility as the provision of such a service would require much greater resources than those currently available.

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