An expert committee appointed by the Irish government has recommended creating a national panel to evaluate claims for Nazi-era and colonial loot in public collections and called for state funding for provenance research.
The Advisory Committee on the Restitution and Repatriation of Cultural Heritage was established by Ireland’s government in 2023. In its final report, presented to the Irish government earlier this month, the committee urges the government to enact new laws to establish a Restitution and Repatriation Advisory Panel of Ireland. The law should also give the minister of culture powers to direct or authorise restitutions “even where existing statutory restrictions, deeds of trust, or settlement would otherwise prevent deaccessioning,” it suggests.
“A central conclusion of the committee’s work is that, while there is evident goodwill and a strong sense of ethical responsibility across the sector, many institutions face real practical and legal impediments in responding to claims,” the report says. “These include limitations in provenance research capacity, cataloguing and digitisation deficits, restricted access to specialist expertise, and in some instances statutory or trust-based constraints affecting disposal or return. It is therefore clear that a coherent national response is required, one which supports institutions while also ensuring that claimants have access to a fair and authoritative process.”
Led by Donnell Deeny, the chair of the UK Spoliation Advisory Panel, the committee proposes national guidelines based on international best practices to help museums navigate the restitution and repatriation of colonial-era collections, Nazi-era spoliation, human remains and sacred objects.
It also calls for a national provenance research programme to “address the severe lack of provenance expertise and capacity across collecting institutions”. It notes that 77% of Irish collecting institutions do not currently have dedicated provenance research staff and that 90% lack comprehensive online catalogues.
“It’s important to recognise that some objects in Irish collections were acquired in circumstances that today are acknowledged as unacceptable,” the report says. “If implemented in full, the recommendations of this report will enable Ireland to build a coherent, modern, and ethically robust national system.”
The report was welcomed by the Irish minister for culture, Patrick O’Donovan. “I am giving these recommendations my full consideration to ensure that the restitution and repatriation processes for culturally sensitive objects in Ireland are grounded in trust and respect, and that cultural and collecting institutions are appropriately supported,” he said in a statement. “I will consult with key stakeholders on these recommendations and I intend to then bring a plan to government to seek support for their implementation.”
Other European countries established panels to evaluate claims for Nazi-looted art after endorsing the 1998 Washington Principles, which called for “just and fair solutions” and “national processes” to help achieve these. Countries that have created national panels to address colonial-era claims include the Netherlands and Switzerland.
The World Jewish Restitution Organization also welcomed the Irish committee’s report, saying it gives “a detailed overview of the structural steps necessary to build a transparent restitution framework in Ireland”.
