The Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue has suggested that 56 valuable works of art owned by the Great Southern Hotel Group be handed over to the State at no cost.
The collection, comprising key works by Nora McGuinness and Louis le Brocquy amongst others, was removed from the walls of the hotels in May in advance of the group's sale, and are being valued at a Dublin auction house.
A significant proportion of the collection, now valued in the millions, was co-funded by the Irish Arts Council during the 1960s and 1970s as part of a State scheme to support up and coming artists.
Yesterday Mr O'Donoghue said the art had been bought with the assistance of the Arts Council and while the hotels were in public ownership.
"These works are part of our national heritage, have been purchased in effect by the people of Ireland and should be returned to the national collecting institutions and the OPW for continued public display," he said.
He has also asked the Arts Council to compile a full report on the whereabouts of hundreds of 153 works of art purchased under the scheme by the CIÉ group of companies, which included the Great Southern Hotels at the time.A number of the paintings are believed to have been sold in the 1980s and 1990s.
Labour TD Michael D Higgins, who has been highlighting the issue in recent weeks, welcomed the move by Mr O'Donoghue and the attempt to locate all of the artwork.