Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

231. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount that has been spent to date on the refurbishment of the National Museum of Ireland; and when the museum will reopen to visitors. [60380/21]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As part of the National Cultural Institutions Investment Programme under the National Development Plan, a major refurbishment of the Natural History Museum is being carried out. This will address structural, environmental and accessibility issues and provide a fit for purpose set of galleries and ancillary facilities, in line with modern international museum standards..

The Natural History Museum has been closed since 19 September 2020 to enable a partial decant of the building in preparation for works to the roof of the building by the Office of Public Works. Following the completion of the roof works a risk assessment will be carried out to determine the feasibility of reopening the ground floor of the Museum to visitors for a period before the commencement of the major refurbishment work on the building. The overall refurbishment work is due to be completed by the end of 2026.

To date the National Museum of Ireland has spent approx €730,000 on the project.