Vol. 515 No. 6
225 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the amount allocated to the National Heritage Council in each of the years from 1995 to date; her views on whether this is sufficient funding to preserve and restore heritage; and the funding, if any, available in 2000. [6667/00]
Details of allocations to the Heritage Council for the period 1996-2000 are as follows: 1996, £2,200,000; 1997, £3,501,000, including a supplementary estimate of £509,000 in December 1997 to clear outstanding grants; 1998, £4,000,000; 1999, £5,080,000; 2000, £5,740,000.
In 1995 the Heritage Council was established as a statutory, independent body under the terms of the Heritage Act, 1995, when it replaced the non-statutory National Heritage Council. The allocation to the National Heritage Council in 1995 was £1,800,000.
While I recognise that additional funding could be used to good effect by the Heritage Council in carrying out its statutory functions, the annual funding provided to the council has increased by 92% since I came to office in June 1997.
In addition, I recently announced a special once-off allocation of £750,000 towards the restoration of Ballyfin House, which will be administered by the Heritage Council. This will result in an adjusted figure for the current year of almost £6.5 million in funding for the Heritage Council, which will be reflected in the revised Book of Estimates to be published shortly.
