THE DEPARTMENT of Finance has suggested the three main State galleries could be amalgamated as part of the Government plan to rationalise agencies. HARRY McGEE, Political Staff reports
Correspondence from the Department of Arts, seen by The Irish Times, discloses that finance raised the possibility of the amalgamation of the National Gallery, the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Imma) and the Crawford Gallery in Cork.This arose as part of a "brainstorming exercise" within finance which included the galleries in a list of agencies that might be suitable to be merged or subsumed into others.
Senior officials in the Department of Arts gave reassurances to the galleries that the suggestion had yet to be examined in detail. The suggestion has been confirmed by a departmental spokesman who emphasised the issue has not yet been the subject of serious discussion.
Crawford Gallery director Peter Murray said pooling certain functions could be beneficial. However, he said he could see no economic advantage or savings from merging the three galleries into one entity.
"I do not think there would be any sensible need to coalesce the three major cultural institutions into one unit. I could not see that working very well. Would the National Gallery have authority over the Crawford or vice versa?
"Members of the board are not paid for their participation. These are people who have given their time . . . There would not be any economic saving by [the galleries] coalescing." Mr Murray said it was not at the board level but in other areas where savings could be achieved.
He instanced greater integration of human resources and legal services, as well as the galleries using their combined bargaining power when advertising or when launching campaigns.
Director of Imma Enrique Juncosa is away at present. Imma said it was aware that the possible amalgamation of the three galleries had been raised. "Imma has been given to understand that no decisions whatsoever have been taken with regard to this suggestion. As with all other State-funded agencies, the museum would obviously have to be prepared to consider any proposal that would be brought forward as a result of Government policy."
National Gallery director Raymond Keaveney is also away. A spokeswoman said the gallery has not received any communication about this matter from the department.