The Museum Standards Programme for Ireland (MSPI) benchmarks and promotes professional standards in collections care and to recognise the achievement of those standards within the Irish museum sector.

Speaking this morning Minister Humphreys said: “I wholeheartedly believe we should be doing all we can to facilitate loans and improve the mobility of collections within museums in Ireland. By working together in this way, we can ensure that museums benefit and, crucially, that the public benefits.

“My Department provides direct financial support to facilitate the movement and loaning of collections to local and regional Museums through the Mobility of Collections Scheme. The scheme allows local and regional museums to discharge some or all of the costs associated with taking valuable items on loan from our National Cultural Institutions. I have a great appreciation for the benefits of this Scheme, so I was pleased to be in a position to increase the funding from €10,000 in 2014, to €40,000 this year.

“The funding helps to cover the cost of transportation, insurance and exhibiting the pieces. Last year, museums in Cavan, Cork, Drogheda, Limerick, Sligo and Waterford benefitted under the scheme. It is essential that museums - both national and local - take an open and collaborative approach to their collections.

“I am very pleased to see our National Cultural Institutions and representatives from regional and county museums coming together today to look at ways to better facilitate loans across the museum sector. A strong museum infrastructure in Ireland is of benefit to the arts, our tourism, social inclusion and the overall well-being of our cities, towns and communities. 

“Local museums are wonderful assets. They are repositories of our national story, they safeguard and promote our heritage and they give visitors a glimpse of what life was like 50, 100 or more than 1,000 years ago. By better facilitating loans from the Cultural Institutions we can enhance the collections at local and regional museums and improve the visitor experience.  Through this forum today I hope practical ideas and reasonable solutions can be arrived upon to increase the movement of collections throughout our museums network.”

More about the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland
The Museum Standards Programme for Ireland (MSPI) benchmarks and promotes professional standards in collections care and recognises the achievement of those standards within the Irish museum sector.

The term ‘museum’ includes museums, galleries, and collecting agencies and, for MSPI purposes, is defined as follows: Museums are not for profit institutions that collect, safeguard, hold in trust, research, develop and interpret collections of original objects and original objects on loan, for the public benefit.

Accreditation is open to all Irish museums that meet the eligibility criteria. The standards are achievable and can be applied to museums of all sizes and levels of funding. MSPI participants to date have ranged from national institutions, through local authority, to private, co-operative and small volunteer-run museums.

Commitment Participation in the programme involves the joint commitment of museum governance and staff in a process that may take up to five years to complete.

Museums working towards accreditation will need to appoint a project-manager and allot specific work time to the programme.

During the programme all aspects of the museum’s organisation will be reviewed, necessitating the focus and time of other museum staff.

Museum staff may also be required to attend training workshops. Since not all participating museums employ museum-trained or conservation staff, the programme offers a series of workshops covering all areas of the programme including caring for collections, museum governance and visitor services. The workshops are free of charge to participants.

The museum’s application for eligibility will be reviewed by the MSPI Advisory Group. The Advisory Group is made up of senior members of the Irish and international museum sector; the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht; the Arts Council; and the Irish Museums Association.

The Heritage Council is the awarding agency. It makes the final decision about eligibility, awarding accreditation to applicants and the development of the programme.