Sir, First of all, I wish to thank your correspondent, Mary Cummins, for taking up the issue of the Irish Women's Archive and Resource Centre (June 6th). Having raised the matter in the Dail since with the Minister for the Arts, Mr Higgins, I have still not got a satisfactory reason for his decision to axe the funding for the Archive and Resource Centre. I can only conclude that a worthy women's project was the first port of call for the Minister when it came to looking for cuts in his budget. It is ironic that one arm of Government is producing equal status legislation, while another Minister is setting progress back two steps.
Mr Higgins has claimed that the National Archive would have been the appropriate place for the Women's Archive and Resource Centre. If this is his view, how come the new major plan for the National Archive launched only a week ago by the Minister makes no special provision for a women's archive and resource centre? Given that he has shut down the only dedicated women's archive, one would have expected him to make some effort in this regard.
Historians are agreed that there is major work to be done on archiving material about women's lives and for the provision of a resource centre for those researching the role of women. The National Archive does excellent work but has limited funding and resources. It is already stretched having recently got the US adoption files. For it to take on something as important and demanding as a separate women's archive and resource centre without additional resources would not be feasible. - Yours, etc.,
Fianna Fail Spokesperson on Arts, Culture and Heritage, Dail Eireann,
Dublin 2.