Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 January 2014
388. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the intervention he has made to save the school attended by Michael Collins at The Pike, Lisavaird, County Cork, which so moulded his early years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2448/14]
View answer400. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the steps he will take to protect the old British Legion building in Killester, Dublin 5, which is part of the involvement of Irish people in the First World War. [2736/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 388 and 400 together.
Part IV of the Planning and Development Acts 2000, as amended, provides for the protection of architectural heritage and gives local planning authorities primary responsibility to identify and protect architectural heritage by including structures on the Record of Protected Structures. The making of an addition to, or a deletion from, the Record of Protected Structures is a reserved function of the relevant planning authority, in these cases Cork County Council and Dublin City Council respectively.
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) is a State initiative under the administration of my Department. Its purpose is to identify, record, and evaluate the post-1700 architectural heritage of Ireland, uniformly and consistently as an aid in the protection and conservation of the built heritage. I recommend structures rated as being of regional importance or above to the planning authorities for inclusion on the Record of Protected Structures.
Neither the school at The Pike, Lisavaird, County Cork nor the old British Legion Hall in Killester is recorded on the NIAH or on the Record of Protected Structures for Cork or Dublin respectively. Under the Planning & Development Act 2000, as amended, the local authority is the planning authority and the decision-making body in the first instance in relation to planning applications. An Bord Pleanála is the appeals authority for planning applications. My role in relation to planning applications is limited to that of statutory consultee in cases where a proposed development may have an effect on natural, archaeological or architectural heritage.
My Department has not made any interventions in relation to either building and, in this regard, I would refer the Deputies to Cork County Council and Dublin City Council respectively as the relevant planning authorities.
