Vol. 504 No. 1
31 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the proposals, if any, she has for the preservation and restoration of stately homes and castles which have tourist potential; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11172/99]
The State already has a sizeable portfolio over 700 of national monuments and historic properties in its care, which is placing an ever-increasing strain on the resources at my disposal to maintain and manage such properties. Therefore, for heritage properties generally I favour private ownership as much as possible so that they can be put to appropriate uses and their tourism potential can be maximised in an appropriate manner.
As for those heritage properties in my care, my Department is involved in thirty three projects which are mainly of a conservation nature and which range from stately homes such as Castletown House, County Kildare to castles such as Trim Castle, County Meath and Barryscourt Castle, County Cork. The current works programme will result in a capital spend of about £30 million on the 33 projects concerned. The programme is supported by the European Union under the Operational Programme for Tourism 1994-99 and there is, therefore, a clear tourism potential therein. When the programme is completed, a significant addition will have been made to both the peak and off-peak tourism attractions throughout the State.
In the next round of Structural Funds my Department will be considering proposals for a further programme of tourism-related projects which will be primarily aimed at the conservation and presentation of National Monuments and Historic Properties in State care, in keeping with my remit as Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands.
The Deputy may rest assured that I and my officials will be doing our utmost to maximise the benefits from the next round of capital funding while ensuring that the overriding priority of conserving our built heritage is met.
