Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 July 2011
392 Deputy Michael Conaghan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the definition of heritage; if this includes Ireland’s rich industrial heritage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22106/11]
View answer393 Deputy Michael Conaghan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his plans to protect and promote the Inchicore railway yards, Dublin, one of the best surviving examples of this aspect of industrial heritage in the northern hemisphere; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22107/11]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 392 and 393 together.
Under the provisions of the Planning and Development Act 2000, each planning authority is required, for the purpose of protecting structures or parts of structures which are of special architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social or technical interest, to include in its development plan a Record of Protected Structures and to include in that record every structure which is, in the opinion of the planning authority, of such interest within its functional area. This may be done at the time of the preparation of the development plan or, where appropriate, at any other time. The making of an addition to, or deletion from, a Record of Protected Structures is a reserved function of the planning authorities. I am advised that Dublin City Council, to date, has not included the Inchicore railway yards in the Record of Protected Structures for Dublin City. The Act also enables me, as Minister, to make recommendations to a planning authority concerning the inclusion of specific structures in its Record of Protected Structures and a planning authority must have regard to any such recommendations. These recommendations are based on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) surveys conducted by my Department. The aim of NIAH surveys is generally to include structures which are of international, national and regional importance.
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage for Dublin City has yet to be undertaken. The advertisement inviting tenders to undertake the first NIAH survey of Dublin City is due to be published by my Department in the coming days. This initial survey will focus on Dublin 1 and it marks the beginning of by far the largest NIAH county survey to date.
