Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2020
1335. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if the National Monuments Service will take into State care the Napoleonic battery fortress on Carrig Island, Ballylongford, County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5422/20]
View answerThe national monuments in State care number some one thousand sites at over 760 locations around the country and these command considerable resource commitments in terms of both funding and personnel allocations. In addition, there are in excess of 120,000 monuments listed in the Record of Monuments and Places.
Because of the resource implications, the State is only ever in a position to acquire, maintain and present to the public a relatively small number of heritage properties and monuments. My Department makes such acquisitions from time to time in exceptional circumstances in line with their archaeological, architectural, historical or other special significance.
The property referred to by the Deputy is included in the statutory Record of Monuments and Places and, as such, is safeguarded under the National Monuments Acts. Recorded monuments are protected under Section 12 of the 1994 National Monuments (Amendment) Act and two months’ notice is required to be given to my Department in advance of works at, or in, their vicinity.
I regret that in current circumstances, and in light of the limited resources available for new acquisitions, this particular monument could not at present be regarded as a priority for being taken into state care.
