Vol. 549 No. 4
27 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands the incentives available to encourage notification of the discovery of artefacts of a priceless nature; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6871/02]
The payment of rewards in relation to the discovery of artefacts is provided for under section 10 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1994. Under this section the director of the National Museum of Ireland may, following consultation with me as Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands and the Minister for Finance and with our consent given in writing, pay a reward where the object is retained by the director on behalf of the State. In deciding on the payment of a reward the legislation provides that the director shall take a number of factors into account. These factors include the intrinsic value and the general historical and archaeological importance of the object found, the circumstances of the finding of the object and the amount of the rewards paid in the State in respect of the finding of other comparable archaeological objects.
