National Gallery will use own resources to bring idle €120,000 scanner into use this year, says Minister

Minister for Arts and Culture Patrick O’Donovan said the National Gallery of Ireland will use its own resources to bring a €120,000 specialist art scanner into use this year, eight years after its purchase.

The X-ray machine, which is used to inspect valuable works in an unintrusive way, has lain idle for almost a decade because no suitable room to house it has been found.

The Minister questioned why the gallery bought an expensive piece of equipment before deciding where it was going to be placed given its specialised requirements.

“That seems to be the biggest issue,” he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.