Vol. 534 No. 4
41 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the ways in which her Department or any agency under the aegis of her Department assists in the preservation and conservation of old and historic buildings; the funding available through each agency respectively; the plans she has in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10783/01]
Last November, I published details of my plans to allocate some £100 million under the national development plan for the continued conservation and protection, in the period up to 2006, of the built heritage. A total of £65 million of that allocation has been allocated over the next six years on major conservation, protection or presentation works at more than 100 of the sizeable portfolio of over 740 national monuments and historic properties in the care of Dúchas, the Heritage Service of my Department.
In general, my Department does not directly provide financial support for the restoration of buildings in private ownership. However, the Heritage Council, which is an independent statutory body established under the Heritage Act, 1995, and funded by my Department, operates a buildings at risk register for heritage buildings of architectural significance.
In May 1998, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government and I jointly launched the package of proposals for strengthening the protection of the architectural heritage. As part of the package, a grant scheme for the conservation of protected structures is being administered by local authorities with funding in the order of £4 million per annum. All inquiries relating to this scheme should be directed to the relevant local authority.
The owner or occupier of a building which is determined by me to be a building which is intrinsically of significant scientific, historical, architectural or aesthetic interest, and which is determined by the Revenue Commissioners to be a building to which reasonable access is afforded to the public, can apply under section 482 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, for relief in respect of expenditure incurred in the repair, maintenance or restoration of the building. Ultimately, the decision to allow tax relief in respect of an approved building is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners.
