Written Answers Nos. 103 to 108
104. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if an oral hearing will be held as soon as possible on an application for carer's allowance in respect of persons (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16965/14]
View answerFurther to my response to Parliamentary Question No. 285 of 1 April 2014 the Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned has been referred back to the Appeals Officer on 3 April 2014 who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The request for an oral hearing of this case has been brought to the attention of the Appeals Officer.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
106. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht further to Parliamentary Question No. 152 of 2 April 2014, the procedure by which a preservation order under section 8 of the National Monuments Act 1930 is granted; if the proposed structure has to be in public ownership; the factors taken into account when granting such an order; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16889/14]
View answer107. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will provide a list of the preservation orders granted under section 8 of the National Monuments Act 1930 in 2013, and for each such order, the person who requested it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16890/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 106 and 107 together.
The statutory procedures and criteria for the making of a preservation order are set out in section 8 of the National Monuments Act 1930, as amended. Where it appears to the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht that a monument which in his opinion is a national monument is in danger of being or is actually being destroyed, injured or removed, or is falling into decay through neglect, the Minister may make a preservation order in respect of the national monument.
Under section 2 of the 1930 Act a “national monument” is defined as a monument, the preservation of which is a matter of national importance by reason of its historical, architectural, traditional, artistic or archaeological interest.
Any preservation order made under section 8 of the 1930 Act, as amended, must be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. No such orders were made in 2013.
108. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will actively support the Irish Chamber Orchestra, which needs funding in 2014. [16983/14]
View answerMy Department does not provide operating grants as described by the Deputy. That is matter for the Arts Council, which is statutorily independent in its decision making. In general terms, responsibility for the promotion of the arts at all levels throughout the country is primarily devolved to the Arts Council. The Arts Council is the principal agency through which State funding is channelled to the arts. Under the Arts Act 2003, the Arts Council is a statutorily independent body, funded by my Department and independent in its day-to-day operations, and I have no role to play in relation to its funding decisions in this and other matters.
It may interest the Deputy to know that my Department provided €2.6 million in capital funding to the Irish Chamber Orchestra towards the construction of new headquarters and rehearsal studios at the University of Limerick, which was opened in 2008.
