The Government was not found to be "fumbling in the greasy till" when it came to funding the Millennium Wing of the National Gallery of Ireland, according to the Minister for Arts and Heritage, Ms de Valera.
Speaking yesterday at the official opening of the new wing, she said the State had taken a "deep interest" in the €33 million project (£26 million) and had supported that interest with significant funding from the Exchequer.
Referring to weekend reports that it had contributed barely more than a tenth of the overall cost, she said it was "sad that on an occasion of national celebration like this that people should choose to snipe at and misrepresent the State's contribution".
According to official figures, the Government's share of the bill came to €10.7 million (£8.43 million), rather than the €3.2 million (£2.5 million) reported.
A further €7.6 million was raised from private donors, €5.1 million from the gallery's own resources and €9.5 million from the EU. When it was put to the Minister's spokesman, that the initial intention was that the project would be financed entirely by EU and private contributions, he said that was the approach taken by Ms de Valera predecessor, Mr Michael D. Higgins.
In her speech, the Minister said the EU grant of €9.5 million could have been allocated to any other cultural tourism project that satisfied the criteria. She maintained that this, too, constituted "public funding", even though it had come from Brussels.
She also pointed out that her department had provided €950,000 to help defray the costs associated with bringing the inaugural exhibition, Monet, Renoir and the Impressionist Landscape, from Boston to Dublin; it opens to the public today.
Ms de Valera paid tribute to the London-based architects, Benson and Forsyth, for their "extraordinary use of space" in the new wing, which is entered from Clare Street, describing it as a "marvellous set of interlinked facilities and options".
She congratulated the gallery's chairman, Mrs Carmel Naughton, for her "vision and drive" in making the project a reality and also the numerous private donors, such as Sir Anthony and Lady O'Reilly, whose names are carved in a commemorative plaque.
Other benefactors include Mr Lochlann Quinn, chairman of AIB; Mr Martin Naughton, his partner in Glen Dimplex and husband of the gallery's chairman; Mrs Loretta Brennan Glucksman and her husband Lewis; the Bank of Ireland and the Guinness group.
The Minister also paid tribute to the National Gallery of Ireland Foundation, which raised the private sector funding; its chairman, Mr Peter Barry, the former Fine Gael minister and - though this was not in her script - his predecessor, Mr Charles Haughey.
Mrs Naughton, in her remarks, referred to the tortuous history of the Clare Street project saying it had been marked by deep frustration, tremendous excitement and, at times, periods of dreary inactivity due to planning delays and funding problems.
Today the public will finally have an opportunity to see the new wing and its visiting Impressionist exhibition, for a charge of €10.
