In 2017 my Department operated a Digitisation Scheme providing funding for 14 projects across 7 National Cultural Institutions and 3 other cultural organisations. As part of this Scheme, the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI) put forward 3 proposals, including one that involved the purchase of digital x-ray equipment.
All grant funding by the Department is subject to a range of governance and financial oversight measures. In this context, there was consistent communication between this Department and the NGI over the course of its implementation of Scheme between 2017 and 2021.
On 22 November 2021 the Gallery submitted a 'Digitisation Funding Scheme Progress Report' to the officials in the relevant business unit in the Department that oversaw the scheme. The Report included detail on the difficulties experienced by the NGI in establishing the final location of the x-ray room. The report contained further detail on the efforts being made to provide a room for the x-ray. The fact that the x-ray was not operational became known to me in recent weeks after the National Gallery submitted its 2023 Annual Report to my Department. I visited the Gallery to see the equipment and impressed upon the Director the importance of ensuring that it is made operational and that the tax payer investment is protected.
To date the x-ray machine has been stored on site in the National Gallery and there are no specific costs associated with its storage. The Gallery is now exploring the use of the x-ray machine as a mobile unit on-site, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with the system expected to come into use in 2025. My Department will be monitoring the progress of the National Gallery in this regard. These plans are not dependent on the completion of the final phase of the redevelopment of the Gallery as set out in National Development Plan, which is in its initial stages.
