Plans to transfer the £50 million Hunt collection of medieval art to the Custom House in Limerick might have collapsed if the Department of Finance had not agreed to provide an additional £200,000 in funding.
The extra money was needed to cover higher than anticipated conservation and restoration costs for the collection which was moved from the University of Limerick last year.
SFADCo and Limerick Corporation were unable to provide the £312,000 needed and there was little hope of private sector support, the report says. Since 1994, the Department has met 88 per cent of the museum's current expenditure.