Threat to museums recedes with €2m from State

The prospect that some of Ireland’s main museums might have close or charge entrance fees dissipated yesterday after the Government announced more funding.

Arts and Heritage Minister Heather Humphreys announced the provision of an extra €2m for the national cultural institutions.

Some of the funds will be allocated to the National Museum of Ireland, which has been in discussions with the department about its financial difficulties.

Ms Humphreys said she was aware of the funding challenges at the National Museum and National Library and that the funds would be used to deal with a number of the issues raised.

Speaking yesterday on RTÉ radio’s Drivetime, she said she would hope to be in a position to further increase funding as the economy improves.

She believes that institutions should not charge for entry.

Earlier, the board of the National Museum refuted media reports that it planned to close its four sites or that entry charges were to be introduced.

“No decision on the closure of sites or on the introduction of charges has been taken by the board and no recommendations have been made to the Minister of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht in this regard,” it said in a statement.

A stop-gap measure: Editorial, p18