Ireland’s national institutions given €2m funding boost
Financial difficulties had threatened future of National Museum of Ireland
The Irish government has allocated an extra €2m funding in its 2015 budget to safeguard the future of its national cultural institutions, including the National Museum of Ireland (NMI) and the National Library.
The institutions have faced significant financial difficulties after losing 40% of their public funding since 2008. The NMI, which manages four sites, has seen its budget fall from €19m to just under €12m and has had to cut staff and close galleries. Its former director, Patrick Wallace, took early retirement two years ago as part of the government’s cost-cutting measures.
In October, the institution warned that it would need an extra €650,000 in 2015 “in order to maintain services at existing minimal levels”. The NMI was reported to be considering site closures and the introduction of admission charges, although it has since stated that “reports that the museum’s four sites face imminent closure or that entry charges are to be introduced are incorrect”.
Ireland’s minister of arts, heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys, announced last week that she had secured the funding from revised budget estimates. It was not clear how much of the funding will be allocated to the NMI.
A spokesman for the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht said: “The additional €2m announced by the minister will be shared among the national cultural institutions. The biggest beneficiaries are expected to be the national museum and the national library, however, the minister will announce a breakdown in funding in due course.”
The museum’s chairman, John O’Mahony, said that he was “delighted” by the news. He said: “I would like to pay tribute to the ongoing support of minister Humphreys and her officials in their efforts to resolve the funding challenges faced by the museum.
“The increased allocation will enable the museum to continue to make the national collections available to our more than one million visitors at our four sites free of charge.”
The institutions have faced significant financial difficulties after losing 40% of their public funding since 2008. The NMI, which manages four sites, has seen its budget fall from €19m to just under €12m and has had to cut staff and close galleries. Its former director, Patrick Wallace, took early retirement two years ago as part of the government’s cost-cutting measures.
In October, the institution warned that it would need an extra €650,000 in 2015 “in order to maintain services at existing minimal levels”. The NMI was reported to be considering site closures and the introduction of admission charges, although it has since stated that “reports that the museum’s four sites face imminent closure or that entry charges are to be introduced are incorrect”.
Ireland’s minister of arts, heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys, announced last week that she had secured the funding from revised budget estimates. It was not clear how much of the funding will be allocated to the NMI.
A spokesman for the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht said: “The additional €2m announced by the minister will be shared among the national cultural institutions. The biggest beneficiaries are expected to be the national museum and the national library, however, the minister will announce a breakdown in funding in due course.”
The museum’s chairman, John O’Mahony, said that he was “delighted” by the news. He said: “I would like to pay tribute to the ongoing support of minister Humphreys and her officials in their efforts to resolve the funding challenges faced by the museum.
“The increased allocation will enable the museum to continue to make the national collections available to our more than one million visitors at our four sites free of charge.”