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World Heritage Sites

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2019

Tuesday, 11 June 2019

Questions (1018, 1019, 1020)

Joan Burton

Question:

1018. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of applications received requesting to be included on the 2010 tentative list for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the number which were unsuccessful; the reasons for same; the number of these applications which were made by public bodies and private bodies, respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24285/19]

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Joan Burton

Question:

1019. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department encourages previously unsuccessful applications to the 2010 tentative list for nomination as UNESCO World Heritage Sites to reapply for inclusion in the 2020 tentative list; the position regarding the sites currently on the 2010 tentative list, if they will be transferred to the new 2020 tentative list; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24286/19]

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Joan Burton

Question:

1020. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department encourages owners of individual buildings that have been demonstrated to possess outstanding universal value, one of the central ideals underpinning the World Heritage Convention, to apply for inclusion on the upcoming 2020 tentative list for nomination as UNESCO World Heritage Sites; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24287/19]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1018 to 1020, inclusive, together.

In January last, my Department advertised publicly, including through social media, for official bodies and individuals to apply to the Department to have suitable sites considered for inclusion in the 2020 UNESCO World Heritage list. Applications must be advanced in close cooperation with the relevant local authorities which are expected to take the lead with respect to potential World Heritage nominations in their administrative areas. This ensures the longterm involvement of a statutory body in preparing a site for inclusion on the Tentative List. Officials of my Department are also available to assist and advise interested parties.

The process of readying a site for eventual UNESCO World Heritage nomination encompasses the involvement of the community at large and a wide range of stakeholders. Of critical importance when deciding whether a site should be included on the Tentative List is whether it is capable of demonstrating Outstanding Universal Value. This means that the site must possess cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of global importance for present and future generations. As such, the permanent protection of this heritage is of the highest importance to the international community as a whole. This characteristic would be rigorously assessed by an expert committee for any site under consideration for the Tentative List.

Twenty-two candidate sites were put forward for inclusion on the 2010 Tentative List with the majority coming from public bodies. In addition to the newly-nominated sites that were included in the 2010 List, certain other sites had their position on the previous Tentative List renewed. Others were not considered at that time to have demonstrated that they would meet the various criteria set by the World Heritage Committee. I will provide the Deputy with details of the 22 sites separately.

My Department is currently in the process of managing the ten-year review of Ireland’s Tentative List. In this respect, the local authorities associated with each site on the current Tentative List have been invited to review the readiness of their communities and sites to proceed to World Heritage nomination. My Department is tasked with deciding whether or not sites are likely to meet the criteria for World Heritage nomination. It will do so at the end of the review period in June 2020, and with the benefit of additional information provided by the relevant local authorities in the meantime.

The following revised reply was received on 15 July 2019

I refer to my reply of 11 June 2019 to Questions Nos. 1018,1019 and 1020 relating to the applications that were made for sites to be included in Ireland’s 2010 UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. I indicated in my response that I would provide the details of the sites separately.

The position is that, taking into account those sites that were on the previous Tentative List along with newly identified candidates, 32 sites in all were considered for the 2010 Tentative List. My reply of 11 June referred to 22 sites which unfortunately did not reflect the full extent of the proposals that were examined at that time.

The following are the particulars of the 32 sites as promised:

1. Previous Tentative List Sites Reviewed in 2010:

Name of property

Outcome of 2010 Assessment

Céide Fields, Co Mayo

Accepted onto 2010 Tentative List

City of Dublin

Accepted onto 2010 Tentative List

Clonmacnoise, Co Offaly

Accepted onto 2010 Tentative List

Western Stone Forts

Accepted onto 2010 Tentative List

Cashel, Co Tipperary

Accepted and subsumed into Royal Sites serial nomination

Clara Bog site, Co Offaly

Excluded on grounds of Integrity and Authenticity

2. New Applications Accepted on to 2010 Tentative List:

Proposer

Name of property

Outcome of Application

Local Authority

Glendalough Valley Co. Wicklow

Accepted and subsumed into Monastic Sites

Local Authority

Monastic Kells, Co Meath

Accepted and subsumed into Monastic Sites

State

Monastic Sites

Accepted

Expert Committee

Royal Sites

Accepted

State and NGO

The Burren, Co Clare

Accepted

3. New Applications Not Included on 2010 Tentative List:

New applications to add the following sites to the 2010 Tentative List were variously made by the State, local authorities, private bodies and NGOS. None was found to be eligible with the majority excluded on the grounds that they did not, at that point, demonstrate Outstanding Universal Value or because further research about the site would have been required before substantive consideration could be given to including them on the Tentative List:

The Aran Islands, Co Galway

The Battle of the Boyne, Co Meath

Birr Castle Demesne, Co Offaly

Carriaphooca Castle Demesne, Co Cork

The Cliffs of Moher, Co Clare

Clonfert, Co Galway

The Emigrants’ Story

The Great Blasket, Co Kerry

Irish Walled Towns

Killarney National Park, Co Kerry

Lough Gur, Co Limerick

MacCarthy Castles, Munster

North West Mayo Boglands

Rinn Dúin, Co Roscommon

The Shannon Corridor

Cork Harbour, including the River Lee to Cork City Centre

The Military Fortifications of the South Coast of Cork

Tory Island, Co Donegal

Valentia Tetrapod Trackway, Co Kerry

Additionally, an application on behalf of the Boyne Valley was excluded as it was already in the buffer zone of another World Heritage Site. The Walled City of Derry, which was also submitted for consideration, is not located within the administrative area of the responsible authority for World Heritage within the State (i.e. my Department) and, unlike Navan Fort in Co Armagh, one of the sites that forms the Royal Sites grouping, Derry was not seen as a potential component of a serial nomination.

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