Heritage Projects
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-07
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Patrick O'Donovan (FG), Limerick County

His methodologies may have been a bit different and might be a bit unorthodox for a Deputy of Dáil Éireann to be advocating. However, I do not disagree with the sentiment. If there are materials in other museums, particularly in countries that were formerly colonial powerhouses, including the one that occupied this State, in the modern world of 2026 there is a compulsion on them to look into their hearts and recognise that this stuff was taken against the will of the people from whom it was taken and that it really does not belong where it is. That is particularly the case where it is archived and shoved into presses or cupboards but it does also apply to stuff that is on permanent display that clearly does not belong to the country in question. There are some museums that contain nothing belonging to the state in which it is located but rather a mixum-gatherum of stuff that was literally stolen from all over the world. In 2026, any right-thinking democracy needs to take a long look at itself and say that now is the time to begin the process of repatriation as part of restitution and an overall recovery package for what was done during colonialism. I certainly support the Deputy's point. I look forward to the final report, which I will publish. Once I publish it, I expect our national cultural institutions and those institutions funded by my Department that are not NCIs to act appropriately.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-07/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-07