Minister says art collection belongs to the State

ARTS Minister John O’Donoghue yesterday stepped into the row surrounding the Great Southern Hotel’s art collection, insisting it should be returned to the State in its entirety.

The ownership of the art collection — worth between €2 million and €4m — was thrown into doubt when the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) announced earlier this year it was disposing of the State-owned hotel group.

Labour deputy Michael D Higgins raised the status of the collection in a series of Dáil questions.