The granting of export licences for paintings worth millions of euro from the Beit Collection at Russborough House is the subject of ongoing High Court proceedings which resume tomorrow. The export from Ireland of “cultural goods” – including works of art, historical documents and archaeological items – is regulated by law. Paintings require export licences which are, since 1985, issued by the National Gallery of Ireland.

Although the Alfred Beit Foundation withdrew “Old Master” paintings – including two by Rubens – from this month’s auction at Christie’s in London, An Taisce is seeking a judicial review by the High Court of the granting of export licences for the paintings.

Paintings

An Taisce said its case is that “export licences were granted for these paintings by the National Gallery of Ireland, rather than the Minister of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, who is charged with granting licences for the export of paintings under the Documents and Paintings (Regulation of Export) Act 1945”.

An Taisce is “seeking a decision [from the High Court] that the export licences issued by the National Gallery [for the Beit paintings] are not lawful and should be quashed” and said its “motivation in taking this judicial review is the upholding of the law”.

According to the Department of Arts, the power to grant export licences for paintings was delegated to the National Gallery of Ireland in 1985. In a statement, the gallery described the system as “wholly inadequate” and said it “provides no basis upon which the export can either be refused or made the subject of conditions save for a short delay for the purposes of photographing”.

In 1997, the Government introduced new legislation, the “National Cultural Institutions Act” to amend the law on the granting of export licences but the legislation was not implemented.

Examination

Last month, in response to written Dáil questions, Minister for Arts Heather Humphreys said her “Department had commenced an examination of the issues involved . . . in relation to the export licensing system” and would “bring this examination to a conclusion shortly”.

Applications for export licences for paintings are routinely submitted to, and granted by, the National Gallery especially for the major London art auction houses all of which regularly sell Irish-owned art. The Irish Times has confirmed that the three main international art auctioneers – Bonhams, Christie's and Sotheby's, who all hold sales of Irish art in London and regularly receive paintings from Irish vendors – have never been refused an export licence.