Dublin-based art collections should be "decentralised", new regional planning guidelines for the south-west will recommend.
The guidelines for the Cork and Kerry region will take as a starting point the development of the Cork city gateway as "a dynamic and progressive European city region", which acts as the main counterfoil to Dublin and a lever for investment into the south-west region.
"Cork has not received its appropriate allocation of museums, galleries, and art pieces and historical materials contained in national collections, an arena, which has always been closely guarded by Dublin," according to the draft guidelines likely to be adopted by the South West Regional Authority in January.
"Given Cork's status, this position must quickly change and a much greater spatial balance in the distribution of such collections secured," it adds.
Cork City, which is designated as the European Capital of Culture 2005, will build on its European designation and its status as a major centre of culture, the arts and entertainment but facilities will have to be put in place to ensure it fulfils this role, the guidelines in draft form, recommend.
The strategy for the immediate future will be to "recognise the centralisation of cultural facilities particularly national museums and galleries in Dublin" and that Cork could benefit greatest from decentralisation of elements of such collections.
Cork city had the population and availability of buildings. Decentralisation of art collections and historical pieces would also greatly assist and contribute to urban tourism and to short breaks in the city and the south west region, it concludes.
It has recently been announced that Cork's Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, the city's principal public art gallery has been selected to host one of Europe's most prestigious touring exhibitions from Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, which is to close for renovations for four years.
The exhibition is likely to include works by Rembrandt and Vermeer, and may also be joined by Dutch Masters' works from other European museums.
Cork will join a select number of locations in Japan and the United States and the exhibition will include some of Europe's most famous art works, including perhaps Rembrandt's Nightwatch. The exhibition will cost around €200,000 to stage.
This follows Cork's successful Picasso's pre-Guernica water colours exhibition in 2001.
Negotiations are also under way between the Crawford and the Van Gogh and Stedelijk museums in Amsterdam to borrow other well-known works for the 2005 exhibition.