Vol. 525 No. 5
121 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the main features of her recently announced £100 million plan for the built heritage; the reason no projects north of a line between Dublin and Galway were included and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25571/00]
The main elements of the development programme for the built heritage under the national development plan, which I announced in Ennis on 5 November, are as follows. There will be expenditure of £78 million on capital projects in the period to 2006. Some £65 million will be allocated for work on major projects and £13 million to undertake minor works which inevitably arise with a property portfolio of 740 properties. There will be an allocation of £3.5 million to enhance the existing education and visitor services of my Department. This funding will be used to used to attract additional visitors to less popular sites and to extend the season at as many as possible of the Department's sites. There will be an allocation of £4.5 million in the period to 2006 specifically for a programme of upgrading existing exhibitions and audio visual displays at a number of existing sites and an allocation of £1 million to accelerate the installation of information panels at sites around the country which are popular with visitors but where there is no guide service. There will be an allocation of £1.7 million in the period to 2006 for an extensive apprenticeship programme, primarily in the crucial skills of carpentry, stonecutting and stonemasonary. To commence this initiative I am hopeful that 2001 will see as many as 20 young people commence training in their chosen field.
While much of the country's heritage not in State care can and will be protected by the Planning and Development Act, 2000, I am anxious that my Department continues to play a proactive role in this area. To this end I announced an allocation of £9.8 million towards what can be broadly described as assisting in the regulation of the built environment. This provision will enable me to accelerate architectural and archaeological surveys so that planners and developers can be better informed before making project decisions. Efforts will also be made to promote the recruitment of archaeologists in planning authorities.
