Vol. 475 No. 3
23 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the progress, if any, which has been made towards reducing the high cost of insurance for owners or administrators of historic heritage houses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4624/97]
65 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the recommendations of the inter-Departmental working group on architectural heritage; the progress, if any, made to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4763/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 65 together.
As I have stated in reply to previous parliamentary questions in this House, I published in September 1996 the report of the inter-departmental working group on strengthening the protection of the architectural heritage, which contains 64 recommendations spanning a wide range of issues. Copies of the report are available in the Oireachtas Library.
I and my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Deputy Howlin, are currently considering the working group's report, with a view to bringing forward to Government for consideration a package of specific financial, administrative and legislative proposals, based on the recommendations in the report and taking account of observations received on those recommendations. Consideration of the issues involved is at an advanced stage and it is hoped to bring the package of proposals forward to Government shortly.
As I have stated in reply to previous parliamentary questions. I am very aware of the problem posed to owners of heritage buildings by the high costs of public liability insurance. I understand that this is part of the general problem of the apparently high costs of public liability insurance in this country. The issue of public liability insurance costs for heritage buildings is part of a broader issue, which is that of financial support for the conservation of buildings of heritage significance. The latter issue has been addressed in the report of the working group, who considered it more appropriate and practicable to offer financial support in this general way for the conservation of the architectural heritage.
Recommendation 52 of the report proposes that public liability insurance costs be deemed on operating expenses against which full taxation relief may be claimed in respect of buildings qualifying for tax relief under section 19 of the Finance Act, 1982.
Recommendation 52 refers also to the effects of the Occupiers' Liability Act, 1995, on public liability insurance, both generally and in relation to listed buildings open to the public, and states that, according to the Irish Insurance Federation, the representative body for the insurance industry in Ireland, the Act would be at least one year in force before any such effects might be discernible. I understand that the main object of that Act was to simplify and clarify the law on occupiers' liability by giving it a statutory basis, and, hopefully, this will have a beneficial effect on the level of public liability insurance costs in general.
