Committee Urges Irish Government to Establish New Laws and Policies Related to Restitution
Ireland’s Advisory Committee on the Restitution and Repatriation of Cultural Heritage, formed in summer 2023, has issued a final report urging new laws and policies to address restitution and repatriation claims involving colonial-era objects and Nazi-looted property. The report recommends creating a national advisory panel and providing funding to overcome barriers such as limited provenance research, incomplete cataloguing and digitization, and lack of specialist access. In a national survey, the committee found that 90% of Irish institutions lack comprehensive online catalogs, only a small fraction of collections are digitized, and just 23% employ staff trained in provenance research. Chaired by Donnell Deeny, the report proposes a two-phase plan culminating in legislation empowering the culture minister, Patrick O’Donovan, to act on expert advice to achieve “fair and just outcomes.”
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This story was covered in Heatwave Museums, Restitution Storms, and Market Mysteries