Thursday 19 July 2012

Merger proposals on hold till Autumn

The proposed merger of the National Archives of Ireland and the Irish Manuscripts Commission into the National Library of Ireland has had another airing in the Dáil, and it's not looking good for those who were hoping (praying?) to see any such plans kicked out of court.

It seems the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan TD, has forwarded his proposals to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for review (in practice this rarely means anything other than rubber stamping). An announcement is not, therefore, expected before Autumn.

Discussing the anticipated response from the cultural institutions when the decision is made, the Minister said: '...when it happens, I believe that while they may not all be happy with the outcome, they will accept it.'

So that's alright then.

You can read the full exchange here.