asked the Taoiseach if he considers the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Dublin 8, to be the most suitable location on a permanent basis for the National Gallery of Modern Art.

8.

asked the Taoiseach if legislation will be introduced to give a statutory basis to the board to run the National Gallery of Modern Art; the terms of reference of the board; the way in which they will be funded; and if they will have the authority to appoint their own chief executive.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 8 together.

I am satisfied that the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, is the most suitable location. The advisory committee, which I established to advise on the arrangements for the Gallery, were also satisfied with the location.

The management group, which I announced on Friday last, will oversee adaptations to the building and the preparation of the gallery which it is intended will be inaugurated in 1991 as part of the Dublin City of Culture programme. The group will be merged early next year in the existing Royal Hospital Kilmainham Company when the board of that company complete their term of five years in office. The RHK Company will then be responsible for all the activities in the Royal Hospital, including the gallery. The RHK Company are a company incorporated under the Companies Acts and have the authority to appoint their chief executive. It is not proposed at present to establish the company on a statutory basis.

The terms of reference for the gallery are:

—to acquire and exhibit a permanent collection of modern Irish and international art;

—to organise appropriate exhibitions;

—to provide educational support for these and for the permanent collection by catalogues, publications, lectures, etc. and

—to make the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, a lively centre of modern art for the Irish and international public.

The gallery will be funded from the proceeds of the national lottery.

Everyone accepts that the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, is a magnificent building magnificently restored but, as the Taoiseach is well aware——

We are responsible for it.

That is another point which I will dispute.

I provided the money for it — £52 million.

I was responsible for it being designated as a cultural centre instead of being turned over to State offices, with the great co-operation of the the Minister for Finance who was willing to see that this magnificent building should not be used for offices. The most enlightened remark I ever heard from a Finance civil servant was, "We spent too much money on this for it to be made into offices".

Ceist, le do thoil.

We accept this magnificent building and we give credit where credit is due for whatever help was given by the Taoiseach in his various capacities. But after all, the areas designated for the gallery are really a collection of very small rooms — the soldiers' bedrooms. Would the Taoiseach not agree that for presentation purposes and security purposes and because of the location of the Royal Hospital, away from the centre of activities and the possibility of getting casual visitors, it should be designated only as a temporary location for the Gallery of Modern Art and that a more suitable and central location should be sought for the permanent location?

No, I do not agree. I rely on the advisory committee who advised that it was a suitable location. The complaint that the Deputy has that it consists of a number of small rooms is not very valid. That is not quite true, but in any event, I understand that there is now a tendency in modern galleries to have a collection of smaller spaces rather than one huge space, so from that point of view it is entirely appropriate as a gallery of modern art. On the advisory body that I established there are a number of people competent to make decisions about whatever adaptations need to be made. There are architects and artistic people on the body who can look at that aspect. My general advice is that it is entirely in keeping with the modern development of that type of gallery. As to its geographical location, it is quite suitable because in this area of the city we have the National Gallery and we now have the Gallagher Gallery and the Municipal Gallery in Parnell Square and there will be a new cultural centre of the Custom House Docks site. With the addition of a modern art gallery in Kilmainham there will be a nice circuit of galleries around the city.