I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
I am pleased to have the opportunity to open this debate on Second Stage of the Architectural Heritage (National Inventory) and Historical Monuments (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. The introduction of the Bill in the Dáil today represents an important step forward in meeting the commitments to the protection of our built heritage set out in the programme for Government, An Action Programme for the Millennium. Those commitments are to protect and enhance our built heritage and environment, give full legal protection to sites of artistic, heritage and historic interest, and introduce measures to promote the preservation of our historic dwellings.
As we put in place the individual mechanisms for achieving these ambitious aims, it is essential to keep in mind the importance of the agenda we have set. While considering the detail of each proposal we need to keep in mind the importance of our architectural heritage as a cornerstone for our understanding of the past. Every small town in Ireland has its own memories and tells its own story through the unique combination of urban life and culture, its structure, street pattern and the variety, type, style and craftsmanship of its buildings. In a period of such growth as we are currently experiencing in Ireland, it is important to proactively maintain, manage and develop the cultural and historical quality of our environment.
The importance of the built heritage, not only at local and national but also at European and international level, is clearly expressed in the Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe, the Granada convention, which Ireland ratified in 1997. The convention recognises that "the architectural heritage constitutes an irreplaceable expression of the richness and diversity of Europe's cultural heritage, bears inestimable witness to our past and is a common heritage of all Europeans". We owe it to ourselves and to those coming after us to take responsibility, both personally and collectively, for the shape, nature and quality of the environment in which we live and which we pass on to future generations.
While we have, unfortunately, on many occasions in the past not taken seriously enough the importance of conserving our built heritage we are, as a nation, changing our attitudes. In recent years there has been a notable shift at all levels towards a more positive and active approach to ensuring the future of our historic buildings, and I believe a recognition of the social and economic benefits of such conservation is developing in the nation's consciousness.
Against that background, an interdepartmental working group on strengthening the protection of the architectural heritage reported in 1996 on current policies and procedures and made recommendations as to the way forward. Drawing from the recommendations in that report and the subsequent public consultation process, I and my colleague, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Dempsey, brought forward to Government and obtained agreement on a package of legislative, financial and administrative measures for the protection of the architectural heritage which we announced in May of last year.
The legislative measures involved the enactment of a Bill to place the national inventory of architectural heritage on a statutory basis. This is the Bill before the House today. The national inventory of architectural heritage, a systematic recording of the architectural heritage of the State, was commenced in 1990 on a non-statutory basis, with limited resources and no rights of access to property for the purposes of recording, for example, interiors of buildings. In addition, a new planning Bill to give comprehensive protection to buildings of architectural, artistic and historic importance was introduced in the Seanad in December of last year by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government.
The new planning Bill will strengthen existing local authority policies and procedures for conserving the architectural heritage. There will be a clear obligation on each planning authority to establish and maintain a record of protected structures as part of its development plan; a co-ordinated approach to this new system will be ensured through the provision of national guidance issued by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands in consultation with the Minister for the Environment and Local Government. Local authorities will be required to have regard to such guidance in the establishment of the record of protected structures.
In addition, local authorities will be obliged to have regard to individual structures recommended for protection by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands. The Deputies will note the close co-operation which the new protective regime entails between the two Departments. The Bill is at the centre of this co-operative approach.
The effective implementation of these new measures requires a knowledge and understanding of our built environment. If we do not know and understand what we have, we are not in a position to decide what to protect and how we should protect it. An inventory is a basic and essential management tool for any resource which facilitates the formulation and implementation of policy. Therefore, a systematic programme of identification, classification and evaluation of the architectural heritage is essential to making informed judgments and establishing a planned programme of preservation using a combination of legislative safeguards and financial incentives. This Bill will place the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage on a statutory basis and will provide this systematic recording nationally.
The new protection measures also include the establishment of a new grant-aid scheme for approved conservation works to protected structures. This scheme, for which the Minister for the Environment and Local Government has primary responsibility, will commence in 1999, be administered by the local authorities, have funding of approximately £4 million per annum, and will be operated in accordance with national criteria and standards drawn up by an advisory group made up of representatives of my Department, the Department of the Environment and Local Government and the Heritage Council. Details of the scheme are currently being finalised and will be announced shortly.
The full package of measures for the protection of the architectural heritage, of which the Bill is a key element, also provides for annual funding of £800,000 to my Department to ensure that a full record of the architectural heritage, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, is completed within 12 years, to resource the key role which the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands will perform in recommending buildings to planning authorities for protection, and in providing advice to local authorities on development proposals affecting protected buildings. An accelerated interim inven tory of each county will be completed as a priority, pending completion of the full inventory.
The main features of the Bill are: the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, a systematic recording of the architectural heritage of the State will be placed on a statutory basis; legal rights of access to buildings by duly authorised officers will be established for the purpose of preparing the inventory; local authorities serving a dangerous building notice on a building entered in the Register of Historic Monuments must notify the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands of the issue of the notice; and local authorities carrying out work on a dangerous building which is a registered historic monument must, in so far as possible, preserve the building, having regard to public safety requirements.
As I stated previously, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage will identify those buildings which the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands will recommend to local authorities for protection under the new planning legislation. A new regime for the protection of the architectural heritage must have at its core a comprehensive and detailed record of the stock of buildings which constitute the architectural heritage of the State. The creation of this record must be made a priority. As we move into the new millennium we must ensure that we are in a position to conserve our architecture for future generations by providing the essential database required for the planned management and protection of our architectural heritage. It is vital that a full and detailed record of our national architectural heritage is available to those involved in the protection of that heritage for this and future generations.
This Bill is a vital element in the fulfilment of the commitment in the programme for Government to the protection of our architectural heritage. It will also ensure that we meet our commitment to identify properties for protection under the Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe, the Granada convention, which Ireland ratified in January 1997.
I will now deal with the main provisions of the Bill. Section 1 is the interpretation provision. It includes a definition of "architectural heritage" as meaning structures and buildings, together with their settings, grounds, fixtures and fittings, groups of such structures and buildings, and sites, which are of architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, scientific or technical interest. This definition is similar to that in the Granada convention.
Section 2 provides for the establishment and maintenance of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands and for the making available and publication by the Minister of information from the inventory.
Section 2(1) provides that the Minister shall cause to be established and maintained an inven tory to be known as the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Section 2(2) provides that the Minister may do any or all of the following: (a) determine the form and content of the inventory; (b) designate for the purposes of the inventory categories of architectural heritage; (c) cause the designated category or categories to which each entry in the inventory belongs to be specified in the inventory; and (d) cause an entry in the inventory to be amended or deleted.
Section 3(3) provides that the Minister may: (a) make information contained in the inventory available to a planning authority but solely for the purpose of the exercise by the authority of its statutory functions, including planning and development, relating to architectural heritage; and (b) publish information from the inventory and in so doing shall have regard to the security, privacy and safety of property and persons affected.
The Local Government (Planning and Development) Bill, 1998, deals with the system of protected structures, and provides that the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands may recommend specific structures for inclusion by planning authorities in their records of protected structures. These recommendations will be based on the data in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Section 3 provides for the appointment by the Minister, or by an authorised officer of the Minister, of authorised officers and for the powers and functions of such officers. Section 3(1) provides that the Minister, or an officer of the Minister authorised by him or her in that behalf, may, in writing, appoint persons as authorised officers for the purposes of this section.
Section 3(2) provides that every person appointed under subsection (1) shall, on appointment, be provided by the Minister or the appointing officer, as the case may be, with a certificate of appointment. Section 3(3) provides that, when exercising a function conferred by this section, an authorised officer shall, if requested by any person affected, inform such person of the nature of the function being exercised and produce for inspection that officer's certificate of appointment.
Section 3(4) provides that, subject to subsection (5), an authorised officer may do any or all of the following: (a) at all reasonable times enter any premises for the purposes of the establishment and maintenance of the inventory; (b) in any premises entered under this section do all things necessary for or incidental to those purposes; (c) require any occupier of the premises to give the authorised officer such assistance as he or she may reasonably require for those purposes.
Section 3(5) to 3(8) restrict the right of access of authorised officers in respect of private dwellings by providing that such access shall be subject to the consent of the occupier or in accordance with a warrant issued by the District Court pursuant to an application under this section. They also provide that an authorised officer shall, in the case of a private dwelling, inform the occupier of the nature of his or her functions and of the reasons for entry and afford the occupier the opportunity to give reasons entry should be refused.
Section 4 makes it an offence, subject to a fine not exceeding £1,500 on summary conviction, to obstruct or interfere with an authorised officer carrying out his functions under section 3, or to fail to assist an authorised officer without reasonable excuse. Proceedings in respect of a summary offence under this section may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister.
Section 5 places obligations on sanitary authorities in respect of registered historic monuments subject to dangerous building notices, and in respect of works on such monuments. The obligations are consultative in nature given the importance that must, of course, be attached to the safety of people and property even when the danger arises from a registered historic monument.
Subsection (1) is the interpretation provision and provides inter alia that for the purposes of the section “monument” means any historic monument entered in the register of historic monuments under section 5 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1987. Subsection (2) provides that as soon as practicable after serving or proposing to serve a dangerous building notice under section 3 (1) of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1964, in respect of a monument, a sanitary authority shall inform the Minister of the particulars of the notice.
Subsection (3) provides that a sanitary authority which under section 3 (2) of the 1964 Act carries out works on a monument shall as far as possible preserve the monument in as much as its preservation is not likely to cause a danger to any person or property. Subsection (4) provides that as soon as practicable after carrying out works under section 3 (2) of the 1964 Act on a monument, a sanitary authority shall inform the Minister of the works which have been carried out.
In conclusion I wish to again stress the importance of this short Bill in the context of the Government's package of measures for the protection of the architectural heritage. As I have stated, it is vital that a full and detailed record of our architectural heritage is available to those involved in the protection of that heritage for this and future generations. The National lnventory of Architectural Heritage, which will be given a statutory basis under the present Bill and the carrying out of which will be accelerated over the coming years, will provide that detailed record.
I commend this Bill to the House and I look forward to the support of Deputies for its passage through this House.