Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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131. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide the date on which a trial commenced giving academics access to the Land Commission records on a case-by-case basis; the number of academics that have requested access; and the number that have been granted access on a monthly basis since the trial began. [53954/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Officials in the Records Branch inform me that the decision to grant academics access to Land Commission Records on a case by case basis was taken in or around November 2022.

I am informed that there have been nine requests for access since that time and all nine have been granted. However, only six of the nine academics accepted the invite to attend Records Branch.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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132. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which an academic may make a request to access the Land Commission records; if he will set out the criteria that is required to determine that a research project is in the public interest in the context of gaining access to the Land Commission records; if he will clarify whether he and or his officials consulted with academic experts in the field of Irish social history with a specialism in land-related issues in the development of the trial access; and the way in which requests to access the records is considered. [53955/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Officials in Records Branch inform me that requests for academic access to Irish Land Commission records can be made by contacting the Records Branch at the following email address: recordsbranch@agriculture.gov.ie.

Requests for academic access are dealt with on a case-by-case basis and granted at the discretion of the Department.

The matters that will be considered by my Officials when making a decision on whether to grant academic access to the Records include:

• The qualifications of the researcher
• Whether the researcher is associated with an established academic institution.
• In the case of an amateur/local historian, their status in the broader community, e.g., publications, public talks etc.
• Whether the researcher have any personal links to the property.
• The likely impact that the query would have on the ability of Records Branch staff to carry out their primary duties.
• Is the proposed research in the public interest.
• The extent to which the Department can be satisfied that the principal of data minimisation can be adhered to having regard to the nature of the research query.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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133. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to establish on a permanent basis a procedure in place for accessing the Land Commission records for academics. [53956/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Officials in Records Branch inform me that currently requests for academic access to Irish Land Commission records are dealt with on a case-by-case basis and granted at the discretion of the Department.

There are no immediate plans to expand academic access to Irish Land Commission Records. My Department plans to procure specialist archival advice with a view to ascertaining how best to facilitate greater access to the records in future, including to academics.

Pending receipt of the specialist archival advice referred to above Records Branch will continue to accept and assess requests from academics for access to Land Commission Records on a case by case basis.