Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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638. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to digitise the records of the Land Commission and make them available to the public and to scholars electronically in view of the 100th anniversary of the Land Commission in 2023 and the historical importance of the documents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44356/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department currently has no plans to digitise all of the eight million plus Land Commission records currently held in the Department. Digitisation of records on such a vast scale is not feasible at this stage, having regard to both the form and condition of many of the records held and given the sheer scale of such an operation.

However, my Department is examining the possibility of digitising certain key search aids which will enable electronic searches to be carried out by members of the public in order to ascertain if specific records exist.

In addition, my Department is involved in a collaborative project to digitise relevant records as part of the Beyond 2022 project, which will be of interest to scholars. This work has been delayed because of Covid-19, but it is hoped that it will recommence in 2021.