Museum only got funding 'at the 11th hour'

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE:THE DIRECTOR of the National Museum of Ireland, Dr Pat Wallace, has defended accusations by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) that national collections could be at risk because of the museum's poor storage and management of artifacts.

Dr Wallace told the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee yesterday that the funding of the museum had been “grossly neglected” by successive governments. It was only “at the 11th hour” that funding was being made available.

The report of the then CAG, John Purcell, published this year, criticised the operations of the museum and highlighted “significant shortcomings” in record-keeping and substandard storage facilities and practices.

The report by the State’s spending scrutineer found that of the artefacts that could be recorded on electronic systems, only 30 per cent were recorded, and that the museum did not preform any systematic inventory checks or conservation audits.

In eight of the museum’s storage locations there was “dirt, dampness and leaks” and a lack of environmental controls. The museum “needs to address storage facilities or the national collections will be at risk of damage and decay.”

Dr Wallace said he welcomed the report as it justified his arguments for extra staff and the expansion of storage facilities. He was using the resources he had in the best way possible, which Mr Purcell did not appear to appreciate.

The museum had recently been given sanction for extra staff and has been allocated funding for a new storage facility which would accommodate 10 years of archaeological finds which the museum has been unable to accept, as well as catering for its storage needs for the next 30 to 40 years.

“The museum has a very long history going back over 200 years, and many of the problems highlighted in the CAG’s report date from this time. There has been a total history of neglect, particularly since the foundation of the State.”