Election Manifesto Asks

With the Irish General Election taking place on 29 November 2024, the Irish Museums Association has taken the opportunity to reach out to the different main parties to outline our priorities for the next Government, highlighting the scope and role of museums and their contribution to our society.

A summary of our policy asks is as follows:

Strategic Framework

Context: Approximately 68% of museums in the Republic of Ireland are classified as independent. Public leadership for the sector is shared among various stakeholders, with no clear line of responsibility, as museums fall under multiple departments and public bodies.

A national museum policy would help establish a clear, strategic approach to museum development and ensure seamless communication among the various departments and agencies responsible for cultural heritage. This policy would affirm the museum sector’s central role in national frameworks, enabling it to reach its full potential and deliver against other government priorities.

Funding structures

Context: Museum structures have outpaced current funding structures. Today, most Irish museums—holding collections of national, regional, and local significance—operate without the public funding support available to related sectors. Although project funding is offered through schemes from government departments and agencies, short timelines, retroactive payments, and capacity limitations create cash flow and resourcing challenges for museums accessing these grants.

Core, multi-annual funding streams that also cover operational costs would be essential to sustaining and advancing museum development and planning. Such funding would additionally support local social and economic infrastructure, aid in town centre regeneration, and improve the efficiency of public funding allocations by streamlining existing initiatives.

Capacity-building

Context: With over 40% of Irish museums being highly reliant on volunteers, investing in museum staff through capacity-building and training is essential. This focus encourages new leadership and ensures that values of diversity and inclusion are deeply embedded within museums.

Investing in long-term programmes that enable sustainable knowledge exchanges, cross-sector co-mentoring on rethinking business models and strategies, and upskilling would support museums to meaningfully connect with audiences and build sustainable, collaborative relationships with community leaders.

Empowering museums

Context: By definition, museums are centres of research yet there is a significant lack of data on the sector itself. Current information on the nature and scope of collections, visitor numbers, sector structures, employment, investment, and the impact of programming is not consistently reported or centrally gathered. This presents a barrier to museums in advocating for support, benchmarking activities, and evidencing their value.

It is strongly recommended that an assessment of museums' collections, needs, and impact be conducted. For instance, a nationwide audit of collections would help identify what is being held, whom it represents, and where gaps exist. This would also enable museums to better engage the public and researchers through the digitisation of databases, ensuring that collections and programs are inclusive and representative.

Finally, we ask IMA Members and members of the museum sector to contact your local candidates to make the case for the value of museums and ask them about their commitments in support of museums and the wider cultural heritage sector as part of their election campaigns.