Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 5 May 1999

Vol. 504 No. 2

Written Answers. - Architectural Heritage.

Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (Miss de Valera):

Tógfaidh mé Ceisteanna 263 agus 265 le chéile.

Kilmacurragh was the home of the Acton family for almost three centuries. I understand that in 1934, the Acton family leased the estate with an option to buy to a German hotelier, Mr. Charles Budina, who ran a hotel there. With the outbreak of war Mr. Budina returned to Germany. Subsequently ownership fell into dispute for a long number of years and the estate was eventually purchased in 1974 by the Land Commission. Under the management of the Forest and Wildlife Service and subsequently under Coillte, who established a research station there, the arboretum was put in order again. In 1992, Coillte decided to put some 52 acres, including the house and arboretum, on the market and it was bought by a Mr. and Mrs. William Dolan. The arboretum, including the house, was purchased by my Department in 1996 for £250,000.

The existence of the Kilmacurragh House Arboretum, with its mature plant collection and its long association with the National Botanic Gardens, another major heritage property in the care of my Department, was the main reason for the purchase of the property by the State. A condition of the purchase was that the house be retained as a ruin. The objective is to stabilise the shell of the house and retain it as a feature of the arboretum, thereby maintaining the relationship of the house and gardens in context for the benefit of all. Essential visitor and staff facilities are being provided this year and my Department is pursuing the question of stabilisation works to preserve the shell of the house.

The inclusion of a building on the register of buildings at risk is a matter for the heritage council, which is an independent statutory body under the aegis of my Department.

Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands (Miss de Valera):

The register of buildings at risk is compiled by the heritage council, which is an independent statutory body under my aegis. I understand that, to date, some 280 buildings have been listed on this register.

Last May, a package of new measures for the protection of the architectural heritage, including the establishment of a new grant-aid scheme for approved conservation works to listed buildings to be operated by local authorities, was announced jointly by me and the Minister for the Environment and Local Government. The legislative measures included in that package consisted of a new Local Government (Planning and Development) Bill, which will provide comprehensive protection of buildings and structures of architectural heritage importance, and a Bill to place the national inventory of architectural heritage (NIAH) on a statutory basis. I am currently steering the latter Bill through the Oireachtas. In addition, the interdepartmental working group on architectural policy set up a task force to report on policy for historic buildings in public authority ownership and this task force is due to complete its work shortly.

The NIAH, which operates as part of Dúchas, the heritage service of my Department, is a key component of the overall framework for the protection of the architectural heritage, given that identification and recording of that heritage is an essential prerequisite for protection. At present, surveys of the architectural heritage of the State are being carried out systematically by the NIAH. Prior to my assuming office, no architectural surveys had been published by the NIAH. Since then, Dúchas has published ten town surveys and issued a further 17 in draft form. Those surveys deal with all aspects of the architectural heritage and identify the important structures, whether State or privately owned. The main target for the next three years will be to complete interim county surveys of the 26 counties to assist planning authorities in the identification and protection of the architectural heritage in their functional areas. I consider that this approach is the best use of our resources. Given those priorities, there are no immediate plans to carry out a survey of pre-1900 State owned buildings.