Vol. 509 No. 6
494 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if the Church of St. Lachtain, Freshford, County Kilkenny, has been taken into the charge of Dúchas; if so, the work intended to be carried out on the site; and when this work will commence. [21410/99]
St. Lachtain's Church, Freshford, County Kilkenny, is currently in use and serving the local parishioners. The National Monuments Acts, 1939 to 1994, which make provision for the taking of monuments into State care in certain circumstances, preclude any building which is for the time being habitually used for ecclesiastical purposes.
I understand that the Heritage Council, in partnership with the church owners, the local community and Kilkenny County Council, has agreed to commission and carry out a conservation plan for the church and in particular its Romanesque doorway. Dúchas, the Heritage Service of my Department, is represented on the steering group which has been established to oversee the plan.
