Natural History Museum reopening delay is hugely disappointing

Sir, – The news that Dublin’s Natural History Museum may not reopen until well into the 2030s is deeply disappointing. As a parent of two young children fascinated by animals and the natural world, I am acutely aware that by the time the museum reopens, they will have passed through a particularly formative period of childhood.

A visit to a natural history museum can inspire a lifelong curiosity about science, wildlife and conservation. How many such opportunities will be lost during what may amount to a decade-long closure?

The need to preserve this historic building is beyond dispute. What is harder to understand is why substantial refurbishment works may not begin until 2029 or 2030, several years after the museum’s closure.

The temporary exhibition at Collins Barracks is welcome, but surely a closure of this duration warrants greater urgency, clearer public accountability and a more ambitious programme of access to the collection.

The financial cost of the refurbishment will eventually be calculated. The opportunities lost to a generation of curious children will be considerably harder to measure. – Yours, etc,

MARK BYRNE,

Killester,

Dublin 05.