As the Deputy may be aware, in 1998 the Government decided on a new framework to protect the architectural heritage of the State that placed the primary responsibility in this regard on planning authorities. I should emphasise that my role is mainly to provide advice for planning authorities in the exercise of their functions. Funding was subsequently made available for the planning authorities to recruit conservation officers. A scheme of grants for the conservation of protected structures was also introduced. The new system was given legislative effect through the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1999. A number of seminars were held for planning authorities last year to outline the revised arrangements and their enhanced role in the protection of our architectural heritage.
I am advised that the Anna Liffey Mill and associated buildings were on list 2 of the Fingal county development plan. Under the provisions of the Planning Act, 1999, with effect from 1 January 2000 any buildings that had been listed for preservation or protection in that development plan, including the Anna Liffey Mill, were deemed to be included in the new record of protected structures. It is, accordingly, a matter for Fingal County Council, in the first instance, to take whatever action it considers appropriate, consistent with its new powers, to protect the architectural integrity of the relevant structures, including the interiors thereto.
The new Act also places a responsibility on the owners and occupiers of protected structures to ensure that the structure or any part of it, which contributes to its special interest, is not endangered in any way.
