Vol. 416 No. 7
26 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will make a statement on his Department's policy towards the preservation of ring forts and other archaeological remains, especially in relation to sanctioning of farm development schemes.
The farm development schemes operated by my Department provide that no grant aid will be payable for works which could cause damage to any structure or area of historical or archaeological importance.
Any such works which comes to the notice of field staff, whether proposed by grant applicants or not, are notified to the Office of Public Works. The office's formal agreement is required by grant applicants in these cases before approval to commence work is issued by my Department.
